Insecticidal polypeptides having broad spectrum activity and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

The disclosure provides nucleic acids, and variants and fragments thereof, obtained from strains of Bacillus thuringiensis encoding polypeptides having pesticidal activity against insect pests, including Lepidopteran and Coleopteran. Particular embodiments of the disclosure provide isolated nucleic acids encoding pesticidal proteins, pesticidal compositions, DNA constructs, and transformed microorganisms and plants comprising a nucleic acid of the embodiments. These compositions find use in methods for controlling pests, especially plant pests.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a 371 (National Stage) of PCT/US15/55505 filed Oct.14, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/064,270 filed Oct. 15, 20114, which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

A sequence listing having the file name “5383WOPCT_SequenceListing.txt”created on Sep. 24, 2015 and having a size of 59 kilobytes is filed incomputer readable form concurrently with the specification. The sequencelisting is part of the specification and is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to naturally-occurring and recombinantnucleic acids obtained from novel Bacillus thuringiensis genes thatencode pesticidal polypeptides characterized by pesticidal activityagainst insect pests. Compositions and methods of the disclosure utilizethe disclosed nucleic acids, and their encoded pesticidal polypeptides,to control plant pests.

BACKGROUND

Insect pests are a major factor in the loss of the world's agriculturalcrops. For example, armyworm feeding, black cutworm damage, or Europeancorn borer damage can be economically devastating to agriculturalproducers. Insect pest-related crop loss from European corn borerattacks on field and sweet corn alone has reached about one billiondollars a year in damage and control expenses.

Traditionally, the primary method for impacting insect pest populationsis the application of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides. However,consumers and government regulators alike are becoming increasinglyconcerned with the environmental hazards associated with the productionand use of synthetic chemical pesticides. Because of such concerns,regulators have banned or limited the use of some of the more hazardouspesticides. Thus, there is substantial interest in developingalternative pesticides.

Biological control of insect pests of agricultural significance using amicrobial agent, such as fungi, bacteria, or another species of insectaffords an environmentally friendly and commercially attractivealternative to synthetic chemical pesticides. Generally speaking, theuse of biopesticides presents a lower risk of pollution andenvironmental hazards, and biopesticides provide greater targetspecificity than is characteristic of traditional broad-spectrumchemical insecticides. In addition, biopesticides often cost less toproduce and thus improve economic yield for a wide variety of crops.

Certain species of microorganisms of the genus Bacillus are known topossess pesticidal activity against a broad range of insect pestsincluding Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and others.Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Bacillus papilliae are among the mostsuccessful biocontrol agents discovered to date. Insect pathogenicityhas also been attributed to strains of B. larvae, B. lentimorbus, B.sphaericus (Harwook, ed., ((1989) Bacillus (Plenum Press), 306), and B.cereus (WO 96/10083). Pesticidal activity appears to be concentrated inparasporal crystalline protein inclusions, although pesticidal proteinshave also been isolated from the vegetative growth stage of Bacillus.Several genes encoding these pesticidal proteins have been isolated andcharacterized (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,892 and5,840,868).

Microbial insecticides, particularly those obtained from Bacillusstrains, have played an important role in agriculture as alternatives tochemical pest control. Recently, agricultural scientists have developedcrop plants with enhanced insect resistance by genetically engineeringcrop plants to produce pesticidal proteins from Bacillus. For example,corn and cotton plants have been genetically engineered to producepesticidal proteins isolated from strains of Bt (see, e.g., Aronson(2002) Cell Mol. Life Sci. 59(3):417-425; Schnepf et al. (1998)Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 62(3):775-806). These genetically engineeredcrops are now widely used in American agriculture and have provided thefarmer with an environmentally friendly alternative to traditionalinsect-control methods. In addition, potatoes genetically engineered tocontain pesticidal Cry toxins have been sold to the American farmer.While they have proven to be very successful commercially, thesegenetically engineered, insect-resistant crop plants provide resistanceto only a narrow range of the economically important insect pests.

Accordingly, there remains a need for new Bt toxins with a broader rangeof insecticidal activity against insect pests, e.g., toxins which areactive against a greater variety of insects from the order Lepidoptera.In addition, there remains a need for biopesticides having activityagainst a variety of insect pests and for biopesticides which haveimproved insecticidal activity.

SUMMARY

Compositions and methods are provided for impacting insect pests. Morespecifically, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate tomethods of impacting insects utilizing nucleotide sequences encodinginsecticidal peptides to produce transformed microorganisms and plantsthat express an insecticidal polypeptide of the embodiments. In someembodiments, the nucleotide sequences encode polypeptides that arepesticidal for at least one insect belonging to the order Lepidoptera.

The embodiments provide nucleic acid molecules and fragments andvariants thereof which encode polypeptides that possess pesticidalactivity against insect pests (e.g. SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ IDNO: 5, and encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQID NO: 6, and SEQ ID NO: 8, respectively). The wild-type (e.g.,naturally occurring) nucleotide sequence of the embodiments, which wasobtained from Bt, encodes an insecticidal peptide. The embodimentsfurther provide fragments and variants of the disclosed nucleotidesequence that encode biologically active (e.g., insecticidal)polypeptides.

The embodiments further provide isolated pesticidal (e.g., insecticidal)polypeptides encoded by either a naturally occurring, or a modified(e.g., mutagenized or manipulated) nucleic acid of the embodiments. Inparticular examples, pesticidal proteins of the embodiments includefragments of full-length proteins and polypeptides that are producedfrom mutagenized nucleic acids designed to introduce particular aminoacid sequences into the polypeptides of the embodiments. In particularembodiments, the polypeptides have enhanced pesticidal activity relativeto the activity of the naturally occurring polypeptide from which theyare derived.

The nucleic acids of the embodiments can also be used to producetransgenic (e.g., transformed) monocot or dicot plants that arecharacterized by genomes that comprise at least one stably incorporatednucleotide construct comprising a coding sequence of the embodimentsoperably linked to a promoter that drives expression of the encodedpesticidal polypeptide. Accordingly, transformed plant cells, planttissues, plants, and seeds thereof are also provided.

In a particular embodiment, a transformed plant can be produced using anucleic acid that has been optimized for increased expression in a hostplant. For example, one of the pesticidal polypeptides of theembodiments can be back-translated to produce a nucleic acid comprisingcodons optimized for expression in a particular host, for example a cropplant such as a corn (Zea mays) plant. Expression of a coding sequenceby such a transformed plant (e.g., dicot or monocot) will result in theproduction of a pesticidal polypeptide and confer increased insectresistance to the plant. Some embodiments provide transgenic plantsexpressing pesticidal polypeptides that find use in methods forimpacting various insect pests.

The embodiments further include pesticidal or insecticidal compositionscontaining the insecticidal polypeptides of the embodiments, and canoptionally comprise further insecticidal peptides. The embodimentsencompass the application of such compositions to the environment ofinsect pests in order to impact the insect pests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A-1D shows a sequence alignment of the Cry1JPD166 polypeptide (SEQID NO: 2), Cry1JP578V polypeptide (SEQ ID NO: 4), Cry1JPS1 polypeptide(SEQ ID NO: 6), and Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8). The amino aciddifferences are shaded. The proline to valine amino substitution atposition 578 is indicated by a “♦” above the amino acid position. Theamino acid substitutions at positions 115, 594, adn794 resulting fromthe gene optimization for soybean expression encoding Cry1JPS1 (SEQ IDNO: 6) and Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8) are indicated by a “●” above theamino acid position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to compositions and methodsfor impacting insect pests, particularly plant pests. More specifically,the isolated nucleic acid of the embodiments, and fragments and variantsthereof, comprise nucleotide sequences that encode pesticidalpolypeptides (e.g., proteins). The disclosed pesticidal proteins arebiologically active (e.g., pesticidal) against insect pests such as, butnot limited to, insect pests of the order Lepidoptera.

The compositions of the embodiments comprise isolated nucleic acids, andfragments and variants thereof, which encode pesticidal polypeptides,expression cassettes comprising nucleotide sequences of the embodiments,isolated pesticidal proteins, and pesticidal compositions. Someembodiments provide modified pesticidal polypeptides having improvedinsecticidal activity against Lepidopterans relative to the pesticidalactivity of the corresponding wild-type protein. The embodiments furtherprovide plants and microorganisms transformed with these novel nucleicacids, and methods involving the use of such nucleic acids, pesticidalcompositions, transformed organisms, and products thereof in impactinginsect pests.

The nucleic acids and nucleotide sequences of the embodiments may beused to transform any organism to produce the encoded pesticidalproteins. Methods are provided that involve the use of such transformedorganisms to impact or control plant pests. The nucleic acids andnucleotide sequences of the embodiments may also be used to transformorganelles such as chloroplasts (McBride et al. (1995) Biotechnology 13:362-365; and Kota et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:1840-1845).

The embodiments further relate to the identification of fragments andvariants of the naturally-occurring coding sequence that encodebiologically active pesticidal proteins. The nucleotide sequences of theembodiments find direct use in methods for impacting pests, particularlyinsect pests such as pests of the order Lepidoptera. Accordingly, theembodiments provide new approaches for impacting insect pests that donot depend on the use of traditional, synthetic chemical insecticides.The embodiments involve the discovery of naturally-occurring,biodegradable pesticides and the genes that encode them.

The embodiments further provide fragments and variants of the naturallyoccurring coding sequence that also encode biologically active (e.g.,pesticidal) polypeptides. The nucleic acids of the embodiments encompassnucleic acid or nucleotide sequences that have been optimized forexpression by the cells of a particular organism, for example nucleicacid sequences that have been back-translated (i.e., reverse translated)using plant-preferred codons based on the amino acid sequence of apolypeptide having enhanced pesticidal activity. The embodiments furtherprovide mutations which confer improved or altered properties on thepolypeptides of the embodiments. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,760.

In the description that follows, a number of terms are used extensively.The following definitions are provided to facilitate understanding ofthe embodiments.

Units, prefixes, and symbols may be denoted in their SI accepted form.Unless otherwise indicated, nucleic acids are written left to right in5′ to 3′ orientation; amino acid sequences are written left to right inamino to carboxy orientation, respectively. Numeric ranges are inclusiveof the numbers defining the range. Amino acids may be referred to hereinby either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-lettersymbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical NomenclatureCommission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonlyaccepted single-letter codes. The above-defined terms are more fullydefined by reference to the specification as a whole.

As used herein, “nucleic acid” includes reference to adeoxyribonucleotide or ribonucleotide polymer in either single- ordouble-stranded form, and unless otherwise limited, encompasses knownanalogues (e.g., peptide nucleic acids) having the essential nature ofnatural nucleotides in that they hybridize to single-stranded nucleicacids in a manner similar to that of naturally occurring nucleotides.

As used herein, the terms “encoding” or “encoded” when used in thecontext of a specified nucleic acid mean that the nucleic acid comprisesthe requisite information to direct translation of the nucleotidesequence into a specified protein. The information by which a protein isencoded is specified by the use of codons. A nucleic acid encoding aprotein may comprise non-translated sequences (e.g., introns) withintranslated regions of the nucleic acid or may lack such interveningnon-translated sequences (e.g., as in cDNA).

As used herein, “full-length sequence” in reference to a specifiedpolynucleotide or its encoded protein means having the entire nucleicacid sequence or the entire amino acid sequence of a native(non-synthetic), endogenous sequence. A full-length polynucleotideencodes the full-length, catalytically active form of the specifiedprotein.

As used herein, the term “antisense” used in the context of orientationof a nucleotide sequence refers to a duplex polynucleotide sequence thatis operably linked to a promoter in an orientation where the antisensestrand is transcribed. The antisense strand is sufficientlycomplementary to an endogenous transcription product such thattranslation of the endogenous transcription product is often inhibited.Thus, where the term “antisense” is used in the context of a particularnucleotide sequence, the term refers to the complementary strand of thereference transcription product.

The terms “polypeptide,” “peptide,” and “protein” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues. Theterms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acidresidues is an artificial chemical analogue of a corresponding naturallyoccurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acidpolymers.

The terms “residue” or “amino acid residue” or “amino acid” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to an amino acid that is incorporatedinto a protein, polypeptide, or peptide (collectively “protein”). Theamino acid may be a naturally occurring amino acid and, unless otherwiselimited, may encompass known analogues of natural amino acids that canfunction in a similar manner as naturally occurring amino acids.

Polypeptides of the embodiments can be produced either from a nucleicacid disclosed herein, or by the use of standard molecular biologytechniques. For example, a protein of the embodiments can be produced byexpression of a recombinant nucleic acid of the embodiments in anappropriate host cell, or alternatively by a combination of ex vivoprocedures.

As used herein, the terms “isolated” and “purified” are usedinterchangeably to refer to nucleic acids or polypeptides orbiologically active portions thereof that are substantially oressentially free from components that normally accompany or interactwith the nucleic acid or polypeptide as found in its naturally occurringenvironment. Thus, an isolated or purified nucleic acid or polypeptideis substantially free of other cellular material or culture medium whenproduced by recombinant techniques, or substantially free of chemicalprecursors or other chemicals when chemically synthesized.

An “isolated” nucleic acid is generally free of sequences (such as, forexample, protein-encoding sequences) that naturally flank the nucleicacid (i.e., sequences located at the 5′ and 3′ ends of the nucleic acid)in the genomic DNA of the organism from which the nucleic acid isderived. For example, in various embodiments, the isolated nucleic acidscan contain less than about 5 kb, 4 kb, 3 kb, 2 kb, 1 kb, 0.5 kb, or 0.1kb of nucleotide sequences that naturally flank the nucleic acids ingenomic DNA of the cell from which the nucleic acid is derived.

As used herein, the term “isolated” or “purified” as it is used to referto a polypeptide of the embodiments means that the isolated protein issubstantially free of cellular material and includes preparations ofprotein having less than about 30%, 20%, 10%, or 5% (by dry weight) ofcontaminating protein. When the protein of the embodiments orbiologically active portion thereof is recombinantly produced, culturemedium represents less than about 30%, 20%, 10%, or 5% (by dry weight)of chemical precursors or non-protein-of-interest chemicals.

A “recombinant” nucleic acid molecule (or DNA) is used herein to referto a nucleic acid sequence (or DNA) that is in a recombinant bacterialor plant host cell. In some embodiments, an “isolated” or “recombinant”nucleic acid is free of sequences (preferably protein encodingsequences) that naturally flank the nucleic acid (i.e., sequenceslocated at the 5′ and 3′ ends of the nucleic acid) in the genomic DNA ofthe organism from which the nucleic acid is derived. For purposes of thedisclosure, “isolated” or “recombinant” when used to refer to nucleicacid molecules excludes isolated chromosomes.

As used herein a “non-genomic nucleic acid sequence” or “non-genomicnucleic acid molecule” refers to a nucleic acid molecule that has one ormore change in the nucleic acid sequence compared to a native or genomicnucleic acid sequence. In some embodiments the change to a native orgenomic nucleic acid molecule includes but is not limited to: changes inthe nucleic acid sequence due to the degeneracy of the genetic code;codon optimization of the nucleic acid sequence for expression inplants; changes in the nucleic acid sequence to introduce at least oneamino acid substitution, insertion, deletion and/or addition compared tothe native or genomic sequence; removal of one or more intron associatedwith the genomic nucleic acid sequence; insertion of one or moreheterologous introns; deletion of one or more upstream or downstreamregulatory regions associated with the genomic nucleic acid sequence;insertion of one or more heterologous upstream or downstream regulatoryregions; deletion of the 5′ and/or 3′ untranslated region associatedwith the genomic nucleic acid sequence; insertion of a heterologous 5′and/or 3′ untranslated region; and modification of a polyadenylationsite. In some embodiments the non-genomic nucleic acid molecule is acDNA. In some embodiments the non-genomic nucleic acid molecule is asynthetic nucleic acid sequence.

Throughout the specification the word “comprising,” or variations suchas “comprises” or “comprising,” will be understood to imply theinclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements,integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integeror step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

As used herein, the term “impacting insect pests” refers to effectingchanges in insect feeding, growth, and/or behavior at any stage ofdevelopment, including but not limited to: killing the insect; retardinggrowth; preventing reproductive capability; antifeedant activity; andthe like.

As used herein, the terms “pesticidal activity” and “insecticidalactivity” are used synonymously to refer to activity of an organism or asubstance (such as, for example, a protein) that can be measured by, butis not limited to, pest mortality, pest weight loss, pest repellency,and other behavioral and physical changes of a pest after feeding andexposure for an appropriate length of time. Thus, an organism orsubstance having pesticidal activity adversely impacts at least onemeasurable parameter of pest fitness. For example, “pesticidal proteins”are proteins that display pesticidal activity by themselves or incombination with other proteins.

As used herein, the term “pesticidally effective amount” means aquantity of a substance or organism that has pesticidal activity whenpresent in the environment of a pest. For each substance or organism,the pesticidally effective amount is determined empirically for eachpest affected in a specific environment. Similarly, an “insecticidallyeffective amount” may be used to refer to a “pesticidally effectiveamount” when the pest is an insect pest.

As used herein, the term “recombinantly engineered” or “engineered”means the utilization of recombinant DNA technology to introduce (e.g.,engineer) a change in the protein structure based on an understanding ofthe protein's mechanism of action and a consideration of the amino acidsbeing introduced, deleted, or substituted.

As used herein, the term “mutant nucleotide sequence” or “mutation” or“mutagenized nucleotide sequence” means a nucleotide sequence that hasbeen mutagenized or altered to contain one or more nucleotide residues(e.g., base pair) that is not present in the corresponding wild-typesequence. Such mutagenesis or alteration consists of one or moreadditions, deletions, or substitutions or replacements of nucleic acidresidues. When mutations are made by adding, removing, or replacing anamino acid of a proteolytic site, such addition, removal, or replacementmay be within or adjacent to the proteolytic site motif, so long as theobject of the mutation is accomplished (i.e., so long as proteolysis atthe site is changed).

A mutant nucleotide sequence can encode a mutant insecticidal toxinshowing improved or decreased insecticidal activity, or an amino acidsequence which confers improved or decreased insecticidal activity on apolypeptide containing it. As used herein, the term “mutant” or“mutation” in the context of a protein a polypeptide or amino acidsequence refers to a sequence which has been mutagenized or altered tocontain one or more amino acid residues that are not present in thecorresponding wild-type sequence. Such mutagenesis or alterationconsists of one or more additions, deletions, or substitutions orreplacements of amino acid residues. A mutant polypeptide shows improvedor decreased insecticidal activity, or represents an amino acid sequencewhich confers improved insecticidal activity on a polypeptide containingit. Thus, the term “mutant” or “mutation” refers to either or both ofthe mutant nucleotide sequence and the encoded amino acids. Mutants maybe used alone or in any compatible combination with other mutants of theembodiments or with other mutants. A “mutant polypeptide” may converselyshow a decrease in insecticidal activity. Where more than one mutationis added to a particular nucleic acid or protein, the mutations may beadded at the same time or sequentially; if sequentially, mutations maybe added in any suitable order.

As used herein, the term “improved insecticidal activity” or “improvedpesticidal activity” refers to an insecticidal polypeptide of theembodiments that has enhanced insecticidal activity relative to theactivity of its corresponding wild-type protein, and/or an insecticidalpolypeptide that is effective against a broader range of insects, and/oran insecticidal polypeptide having specificity for an insect that is notsusceptible to the toxicity of the wild-type protein. A finding ofimproved or enhanced pesticidal activity requires a demonstration of anincrease of pesticidal activity of at least 10%, against the insecttarget, or at least 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 100%,150%, 200%, or 300% or greater increase of pesticidal activity relativeto the pesticidal activity of the wild-type insecticidal polypeptidedetermined against the same insect.

For example, an improved pesticidal or insecticidal activity is providedwhere a wider or narrower range of insects is impacted by thepolypeptide relative to the range of insects that is affected by awild-type Bt toxin. A wider range of impact may be desirable whereversatility is desired, while a narrower range of impact may bedesirable where, for example, beneficial insects might otherwise beimpacted by use or presence of the toxin. While the embodiments are notbound by any particular mechanism of action, an improved pesticidalactivity may also be provided by changes in one or more characteristicsof a polypeptide; for example, the stability or longevity of apolypeptide in an insect gut may be increased relative to the stabilityor longevity of a corresponding wild-type protein.

The term “toxin” as used herein refers to a polypeptide showingpesticidal activity or insecticidal activity or improved pesticidalactivity or improved insecticidal activity. “Bt” or “Bacillusthuringiensis” toxin is intended to include the broader class of Crytoxins found in various strains of Bt, which includes such toxins as,for example, Cry1s, Cry2s, or Cry3s.

The terms “proteolytic site” or “cleavage site” refer to an amino acidsequence which confers sensitivity to a class of proteases or aparticular protease such that a polypeptide containing the amino acidsequence is digested by the class of proteases or particular protease. Aproteolytic site is said to be “sensitive” to the protease(s) thatrecognize that site. It is appreciated in the art that the efficiency ofdigestion will vary, and that a decrease in efficiency of digestion canlead to an increase in stability or longevity of the polypeptide in aninsect gut. Thus, a proteolytic site may confer sensitivity to more thanone protease or class of proteases, but the efficiency of digestion atthat site by various proteases may vary. Proteolytic sites include, forexample, trypsin sites, chymotrypsin sites, and elastase sites.

Research has shown that the insect gut proteases of Lepidopteransinclude trypsins, chymotrypsins, and elastases. See, e.g., Lenz et al.(1991) Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 16: 201-212; and Hedegus et al.(2003) Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 53: 30-47. For example, about 18different trypsins have been found in the midgut of Helicoverpa armigeralarvae (see Gatehouse et al. (1997) Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 27:929-944). The preferred proteolytic substrate sites of these proteaseshave been investigated. See, e.g., Peterson et al. (1995) InsectBiochem. Mol. Biol. 25: 765-774.

Efforts have been made to understand the mechanism of action of Bttoxins and to engineer toxins with improved properties. It has beenshown that insect gut proteases can affect the impact of Bt Cry proteinson the insect. Some proteases activate the Cry proteins by processingthem from a “protoxin” form into a toxic form, or “toxin.” See, Oppert(1999) Arch. Insect Biochem. Phys. 42: 1-12; and Carroll et al. (1997)J. Invertebrate Pathology 70: 41-49. This activation of the toxin caninclude the removal of the N- and C-terminal peptides from the proteinand can also include internal cleavage of the protein. Other proteasescan degrade the Cry proteins. See Oppert, ibid.

A comparison of the amino acid sequences of Cry toxins of differentspecificities reveals five highly-conserved sequence blocks.Structurally, the toxins comprise three distinct domains which are, fromthe N- to C-terminus: a cluster of seven alpha-helices implicated inpore formation (referred to as “domain 1”), three anti-parallel betasheets implicated in cell binding (referred to as “domain 2”), and abeta sandwich (referred to as “domain 3”). The location and propertiesof these domains are known to those of skill in the art. See, forexample, Li et al. (1991) Nature, 305:815-821 and Morse et al. (2001)Structure, 9:409-417. When reference is made to a particular domain,such as domain 1, it is understood that the exact endpoints of thedomain with regard to a particular sequence are not critical so long asthe sequence or portion thereof includes sequence that provides at leastsome function attributed to the particular domain. Thus, for example,when referring to “domain 1,” it is intended that a particular sequenceincludes a cluster of seven alpha-helices, but the exact endpoints ofthe sequence used or referred to with regard to that cluster are notcritical. One of skill in the art is familiar with the determination ofsuch endpoints and the evaluation of such functions.

In an effort to better characterize and improve Bt toxins, strains ofthe bacterium Bt were studied. Crystal preparations prepared fromcultures of the Bt strains were discovered to have pesticidal activityagainst numerous Lepidopteran pests (see, e.g., Experimental Example 1).An effort was undertaken to identify the nucleotide sequences encodingthe crystal proteins from the selected strains, and the wild-type (i.e.,naturally occurring) nucleic acids of the embodiments were isolated fromthese bacterial strains, cloned into an expression vector, andtransformed into E coli. Depending upon the characteristics of a givenpreparation, it was recognized that the demonstration of pesticidalactivity sometimes required trypsin pretreatment to activate thepesticidal proteins. Thus, it is understood that some pesticidalproteins require protease digestion (e.g., by trypsin, chymotrypsin, andthe like) for activation, while other proteins are biologically active(e.g., pesticidal) in the absence of activation.

Such molecules may be altered by means described, for example, U.S. Pat.No. 7,462,760. In addition, nucleic acid sequences may be engineered toencode polypeptides that contain additional mutations that conferimproved or altered pesticidal activity relative to the pesticidalactivity of the naturally occurring polypeptide. The nucleotidesequences of such engineered nucleic acids comprise mutations not foundin the wild type sequences.

The mutant polypeptides of the embodiments are generally prepared by aprocess that involves the steps of: obtaining a nucleic acid sequenceencoding a Cry family polypeptide; analyzing the structure of thepolypeptide to identify particular “target” sites for mutagenesis of theunderlying gene sequence based on a consideration of the proposedfunction of the target domain in the mode of action of the toxin;introducing one or more mutations into the nucleic acid sequence toproduce a desired change in one or more amino acid residues of theencoded polypeptide sequence; and assaying the polypeptide produced forpesticidal activity.

Many of the Bt insecticidal toxins are related to various degrees bysimilarities in their amino acid sequences and tertiary structure andmeans for obtaining the crystal structures of Bt toxins are well known.Exemplary high-resolution crystal structure solution of both the Cry3Aand Cry3B polypeptides are available in the literature. The solvedstructure of the Cry3A gene (Li et al. (1991) Nature 353:815-821)provides insight into the relationship between structure and function ofthe toxin. A combined consideration of the published structural analysesof Bt toxins and the reported function associated with particularstructures, motifs, and the like indicates that specific regions of thetoxin are correlated with particular functions and discrete steps of themode of action of the protein. For example, many toxins isolated from Btare generally described as comprising three domains: a seven-helixbundle that is involved in pore formation, a three-sheet domain that hasbeen implicated in receptor binding, and a beta-sandwich motif (Li etal. (1991) Nature 305: 815-821).

As reported in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,105,332, and 7,462,760, the toxicity ofCry proteins can be improved by targeting the region located betweenalpha helices 3 and 4 of domain 1 of the toxin. This theory was premisedon a body of knowledge concerning insecticidal toxins, including: 1)that alpha helices 4 and 5 of domain 1 of Cry3A toxins had been reportedto insert into the lipid bilayer of cells lining the midgut ofsusceptible insects (Gazit et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:12289-12294); 2) the inventors' knowledge of the location of trypsin andchymotrypsin cleavage sites within the amino acid sequence of thewild-type protein; 3) the observation that the wild-type protein wasmore active against certain insects following in vitro activation bytrypsin or chymotrypsin treatment; and 4) reports that digestion oftoxins from the 3′ end resulted in decreased toxicity to insects.

A series of mutations may be created and placed in a variety ofbackground sequences to create novel polypeptides having enhanced oraltered pesticidal activity. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,760. Thesemutants include, but are not limited to: the addition of at least onemore protease-sensitive site (e.g., trypsin cleavage site) in the regionlocated between helices 3 and 4 of domain 1; the replacement of anoriginal protease-sensitive site in the wild-type sequence with adifferent protease-sensitive site; the addition of multipleprotease-sensitive sites in a particular location; the addition of aminoacid residues near protease-sensitive site(s) to alter folding of thepolypeptide and thus enhance digestion of the polypeptide at theprotease-sensitive site(s); and adding mutations to protect thepolypeptide from degradative digestion that reduces toxicity (e.g.,making a series of mutations wherein the wild-type amino acid isreplaced by valine to protect the polypeptide from digestion). Mutationsmay be used singly or in any combination to provide polypeptides of theembodiments.

Homologous sequences were identified by similarity search on thenon-redundant database (nr) of National Center for BioinformaticsInformation (NCBI) using BLAST and PSI-BLAST. The homologous proteinswere made up of Cry toxins primarily from Bacillus thuringiensis.

A mutation which is an additional or alternative protease-sensitive sitemay be sensitive to several classes of proteases such as serineproteases, which include trypsin and chymotrypsin, or enzymes such aselastase. Thus, a mutation which is an additional or alternativeprotease-sensitive site may be designed so that the site is readilyrecognized and/or cleaved by a category of proteases, such as mammalianproteases or insect proteases. A protease-sensitive site may also bedesigned to be cleaved by a particular class of enzymes or a particularenzyme known to be produced in an organism, such as, for example, achymotrypsin produced by the corn earworm Heliothis zea (Lenz et al.(1991) Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 16: 201-212). Mutations may alsoconfer resistance to proteolytic digestion, for example, to digestion bychymotrypsin at the C-terminus of the peptide.

The presence of an additional and/or alternative protease-sensitive sitein the amino acid sequence of the encoded polypeptide can improve thepesticidal activity and/or specificity of the polypeptide encoded by thenucleic acids of the embodiments. Accordingly, the nucleotide sequencesof the embodiments can be recombinantly engineered or manipulated toproduce polypeptides having improved or altered insecticidal activityand/or specificity compared to that of an unmodified wild-type toxin. Inaddition, the mutations disclosed herein may be placed in or used inconjunction with other nucleotide sequences to provide improvedproperties. For example, a protease-sensitive site that is readilycleaved by insect chymotrypsin, e.g., a chymotrypsin found in the berthaarmyworm or the corn earworm (Hegedus et al. (2003) Arch. InsectBiochem. Physiol. 53: 30-47; and Lenz et al. (1991) Arch. InsectBiochem. Physiol. 16: 201-212), may be placed in a Cry backgroundsequence to provide improved toxicity to that sequence. In this manner,the embodiments provide toxic polypeptides with improved properties.

For example, a mutagenized Cry nucleotide sequence can compriseadditional mutants that comprise additional codons that introduce asecond trypsin-sensitive amino acid sequence (in addition to thenaturally occurring trypsin site) into the encoded polypeptide. Analternative addition mutant of the embodiments comprises additionalcodons designed to introduce at least one additional differentprotease-sensitive site into the polypeptide, for example, achymotrypsin-sensitive site located immediately 5′ or 3′ of thenaturally occurring trypsin site. Alternatively, substitution mutantsmay be created in which at least one codon of the nucleic acid thatencodes the naturally occurring protease-sensitive site is destroyed andalternative codons are introduced into the nucleic acid sequence inorder to provide a different (e.g., substitute) protease-sensitive site.A replacement mutant may also be added to a Cry sequence in which thenaturally-occurring trypsin cleavage site present in the encodedpolypeptide is destroyed and a chymotrypsin or elastase cleavage site isintroduced in its place.

It is recognized that any nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acidsequences that are proteolytic sites or putative proteolytic sites (forexample, sequences such as RR, or LKM) can be used and that the exactidentity of the codons used to introduce any of these cleavage sitesinto a variant polypeptide may vary depending on the use, i.e.,expression in a particular plant species. It is also recognized that anyof the disclosed mutations can be introduced into any polynucleotidesequence of the embodiments that comprises the codons for amino acidresidues that provide the native trypsin cleavage site that is targetedfor modification. Accordingly, variants of either full-length toxins orfragments thereof can be modified to contain additional or alternativecleavage sites, and these embodiments are intended to be encompassed bythe scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that any usefulmutation may be added to the sequences of the embodiments so long as theencoded polypeptides retain pesticidal activity. Thus, sequences mayalso be mutated so that the encoded polypeptides are resistant toproteolytic digestion by chymotrypsin. More than one recognition sitecan be added in a particular location in any combination, and multiplerecognition sites can be added to or removed from the toxin. Thus,additional mutations can comprise three, four, or more recognitionsites. It is to be recognized that multiple mutations can be engineeredin any suitable polynucleotide sequence; accordingly, either full-lengthsequences or fragments thereof can be modified to contain additional oralternative cleavage sites as well as to be resistant to proteolyticdigestion. In this manner, the embodiments provide Cry toxins containingmutations that improve pesticidal activity as well as improvedcompositions and methods for impacting pests using other Bt toxins.

Mutations may protect the polypeptide from protease degradation, forexample by removing putative proteolytic sites such as putative serineprotease sites and elastase recognition sites from different areas. Someor all of such putative sites may be removed or altered so thatproteolysis at the location of the original site is decreased. Changesin proteolysis may be assessed by comparing a mutant polypeptide withwild-type toxins or by comparing mutant toxins which differ in theiramino acid sequence. Putative proteolytic sites and proteolytic sitesinclude, but are not limited to, the following sequences: RR, a trypsincleavage site; LKM, a chymotrypsin site; and a trypsin site. These sitesmay be altered by the addition or deletion of any number and kind ofamino acid residues, so long as the pesticidal activity of thepolypeptide is increased. Thus, polypeptides encoded by nucleotidesequences comprising mutations will comprise at least one amino acidchange or addition relative to the native or background sequence, or 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40, 45, 47, 50, 60, 70, 80,90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220,230, 240, 250, 260, 270, or 280 or more amino acid changes or additions.Pesticidal activity of a polypeptide may also be improved by truncationof the native or full-length sequence, as is known in the art.

Compositions of the embodiments include nucleic acids, and fragments andvariants thereof that encode pesticidal polypeptides. In particular, theembodiments provide for isolated nucleic acid molecules comprisingnucleotide sequences encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2,SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, and SEQ ID NO: 8, or the nucleotidesequences encoding said amino acid sequence, for example the nucleotidesequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, and SEQID NO: 7, and fragments and variants thereof.

In particular, the embodiments provide for isolated nucleic acidmolecules encoding the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQID NO: 8, or the nucleotide sequences encoding said amino acid sequence,for example the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ IDNO: 7, and fragments and variants thereof.

Also of interest are optimized nucleotide sequences encoding thepesticidal proteins of the embodiments. As used herein, the phrase“optimized nucleotide sequences” refers to nucleic acids that areoptimized for expression in a particular organism, for example a plant.Optimized nucleotide sequences may be prepared for any organism ofinterest using methods known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No.7,462,760, which describes an optimized nucleotide sequence encoding adisclosed pesticidal protein. In this example, the nucleotide sequencewas prepared by reverse-translating the amino acid sequence of theprotein and changing the nucleotide sequence so as to comprisemaize-preferred codons while still encoding the same amino acidsequence. This procedure is described in more detail by Murray et al.(1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498. Optimized nucleotide sequencesfind use in increasing expression of a pesticidal protein in a plant,for example monocot plants of the Gramineae (Poaceae) family such as,for example, a maize or corn plant.

In some embodiments polypeptides are provided comprising an amino acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, or SEQID NO: 8, and fragments and variants thereof.

In some embodiments the polypeptides comprise an amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 8, and fragments and variantsthereof. In some some embodiments the polypeptide fragment comprises theCry Domain I, Domain II and Domain III of SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 8.

In particular embodiments, pesticidal proteins of the embodimentsprovide full-length insecticidal polypeptides, fragments of full-lengthinsecticidal polypeptides, and variant polypeptides that are producedfrom mutagenized nucleic acids designed to introduce particular aminoacid sequences into polypeptides of the embodiments. In particularembodiments, the amino acid sequences that are introduced into thepolypeptides comprise a sequence that provides a cleavage site for anenzyme such as a protease.

It is known in the art that the pesticidal activity of Bt toxins istypically activated by cleavage of the peptide in the insect gut byvarious proteases. Because peptides may not always be cleaved withcomplete efficiency in the insect gut, fragments of a full-length toxinmay have enhanced pesticidal activity in comparison to the full-lengthtoxin itself. Thus, some of the polypeptides of the embodiments includefragments of a full-length insecticidal polypeptide, and some of thepolypeptide fragments, variants, and mutations will have enhancedpesticidal activity relative to the activity of the naturally occurringinsecticidal polypeptide from which they are derived, particularly ifthe naturally occurring insecticidal polypeptide is not activated invitro with a protease prior to screening for activity. Thus, the presentapplication encompasses truncated versions or fragments of thesequences.

Mutations may be placed into any background sequence, including suchtruncated polypeptides, so long as the polypeptide retains pesticidalactivity. One of skill in the art can readily compare two or moreproteins with regard to pesticidal activity using assays known in theart or described elsewhere herein. It is to be understood that thepolypeptides of the embodiments can be produced either by expression ofa nucleic acid disclosed herein, or by the use of standard molecularbiology techniques.

It is recognized that the pesticidal proteins may be oligomeric and willvary in molecular weight, number of residues, component peptides,activity against particular pests, and other characteristics. However,by the methods set forth herein, proteins active against a variety ofpests may be isolated and characterized. The pesticidal proteins of theembodiments can be used in combination with other Bt toxins or otherinsecticidal proteins to increase insect target range. Furthermore, theuse of the pesticidal proteins of the embodiments in combination withother Bt toxins or other insecticidal principles of a distinct naturehas particular utility for the prevention and/or management of insectresistance. Other insecticidal agents include protease inhibitors (bothserine and cysteine types), α-amylase, and peroxidase.

Fragments and variants of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences andthe polypeptides encoded thereby are also encompassed by theembodiments. As used herein the term “fragment” refers to a portion of anucleotide sequence of a polynucleotide or a portion of an amino acidsequence of a polypeptide of the embodiments. Fragments of a nucleotidesequence may encode protein fragments that retain the biologicalactivity of the native or corresponding full-length protein and hencepossess pesticidal activity. Thus, it is acknowledged that some of thepolynucleotide and amino acid sequences of the embodiments can correctlybe referred to as both fragments and mutants.

It is to be understood that the term “fragment,” as it is used to referto nucleic acid sequences of the embodiments, also encompasses sequencesthat are useful as hybridization probes. This class of nucleotidesequences generally does not encode fragment proteins retainingbiological activity. Thus, fragments of a nucleotide sequence may rangefrom at least about 20 nucleotides, about 50 nucleotides, about 100nucleotides, and up to the full-length nucleotide sequence encoding theproteins of the embodiments.

A fragment of a nucleotide sequence of the embodiments that encodes abiologically active portion of a pesticidal protein of the embodimentswill encode at least 15, 25, 30, 50, 100, 200, 250 or 300 contiguousamino acids, or up to the total number of amino acids present in apesticidal polypeptide of the embodiments (for example, 1167 amino acidsfor SEQ ID NO: 2). Thus, it is understood that the embodiments alsoencompass polypeptides that are fragments of the exemplary pesticidalproteins of the embodiments and having lengths of at least 15, 25, 30,50, 100, 200, 250 or 300 contiguous amino acids, or up to the totalnumber of amino acids present in a pesticidal polypeptide of theembodiments (for example, 1167 amino acids for SEQ ID NO: 2). Fragmentsof a nucleotide sequence of the embodiments that are useful ashybridization probes or PCR primers generally need not encode abiologically active portion of a pesticidal protein. Thus, a fragment ofa nucleic acid of the embodiments may encode a biologically activeportion of a pesticidal protein, or it may be a fragment that can beused as a hybridization probe or PCR primer using methods disclosedherein. A biologically active portion of a pesticidal protein can beprepared by isolating a portion of one of the nucleotide sequences ofthe embodiments, expressing the encoded portion of the pesticidalprotein (e.g., by recombinant expression in vitro), and assessing theactivity of the encoded portion of the pesticidal protein.

Nucleic acids that are fragments of a nucleotide sequence of theembodiments comprise at least 16, 20, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300,350, 400, 450, 500, 600, 700, 800, 850, 900 or 950 nucleotides, or up tothe number of nucleotides present in a nucleotide sequence disclosedherein (for example, 3501 nucleotides for SEQ ID NO: 1). Particularembodiments envision fragments derived from (e.g., produced from) afirst nucleic acid of the embodiments, wherein the fragment encodes atruncated toxin having pesticidal activity. Truncated polypeptidesencoded by the polynucleotide fragments of the embodiments are havingpesticidal activity that is either equivalent to, or improved, relativeto the activity of the corresponding full-length polypeptide encoded bythe first nucleic acid from which the fragment is derived. It isenvisioned that such nucleic acid fragments of the embodiments may betruncated at the 3′ end of the native or corresponding full-lengthcoding sequence. Nucleic acid fragments may also be truncated at boththe 5′ and 3′ end of the native or corresponding full-length codingsequence.

The term “variants” is used herein to refer to substantially similarsequences. For nucleotide sequences, conservative variants include thosesequences that, because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, encodethe amino acid sequence of one of the pesticidal polypeptides of theembodiments. Those having ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate that due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, a multitudeof nucleotide sequences encoding of the present disclosure exist.

In some embodiments the nucleic acid molecule encoding the polypeptideis a non-genomic nucleic acid sequence. As used herein a “non-genomicnucleic acid sequence” or “non-genomic nucleic acid molecule” or“non-genomic polynucleotide” refers to a nucleic acid molecule that hasone or more change in the nucleic acid sequence compared to a native orgenomic nucleic acid sequence. In some embodiments the change to anative or genomic nucleic acid molecule includes but is not limited to:changes in the nucleic acid sequence due to the degeneracy of thegenetic code; codon optimization of the nucleic acid sequence forexpression in plants; changes in the nucleic acid sequence to introduceat least one amino acid substitution, insertion, deletion and/oraddition compared to the native or genomic sequence; removal of one ormore intron associated with the genomic nucleic acid sequence; insertionof one or more heterologous introns; deletion of one or more upstream ordownstream regulatory regions associated with the genomic nucleic acidsequence; insertion of one or more heterologous upstream or downstreamregulatory regions; deletion of the 5′ and/or 3′ untranslated regionassociated with the genomic nucleic acid sequence; insertion of aheterologous 5′ and/or 3′ untranslated region; and modification of apolyadenylation site. In some embodiments the non-genomic nucleic acidmolecule is a cDNA. In some embodiments the non-genomic nucleic acidmolecule is a synthetic nucleic acid sequence.

Where appropriate, a nucleic acid may be optimized for increasedexpression in the host organism. Thus, where the host organism is aplant, the synthetic nucleic acids can be synthesized usingplant-preferred codons for improved expression. See, for example,Campbell and Gowri, (1990) Plant Physiol. 92:1-11 for a discussion ofhost-preferred codon usage. For example, although nucleic acid sequencesof the embodiments may be expressed in both monocotyledonous anddicotyledonous plant species, sequences can be modified to account forthe specific codon preferences and GC content preferences ofmonocotyledons or dicotyledons as these preferences have been shown todiffer (Murray et al. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498). Thus, themaize-preferred codon for a particular amino acid may be derived fromknown gene sequences from maize. Maize codon usage for 28 genes frommaize plants is listed in Table 4 of Murray, et al., supra. Methods areavailable in the art for synthesizing plant-preferred genes. See, forexample, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,831, and 5,436,391 and Murray, et al.,(1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498, and Liu H et al. Mol Bio Rep37:677-684, 2010, herein incorporated by reference. A Zea maize codonusage table can be also found atkazusa.or.jp/codon/cgi-bin/showcodon.cgi?species=4577, which can beaccessed using the www prefix.

A Glycine max codon usage table is shown in Table 3 and can also befound atkazusa.or.jp/codon/cgi-bin/showcodon.cgi?species=3847&aa=1&style=N,which can be accessed using the www prefix.

The skilled artisan will further appreciate that changes can beintroduced by mutation of the nucleic acid sequences thereby leading tochanges in the amino acid sequence of the encoded polypeptides, withoutaltering the biological activity of the proteins. Thus, variant nucleicacid molecules can be created by introducing one or more nucleotidesubstitutions, additions and/or deletions into the corresponding nucleicacid sequence disclosed herein, such that one or more amino acidsubstitutions, additions or deletions are introduced into the encodedprotein. Mutations can be introduced by standard techniques, such assite-directed mutagenesis and PCR-mediated mutagenesis. Such variantnucleic acid sequences are also encompassed by the present disclosure.

Naturally occurring allelic variants such as these can be identifiedwith the use of well-known molecular biology techniques, such as, forexample, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization techniques asoutlined herein.

In some embodiments the polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of SEQID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 8 is a non-genomic nucleic acid sequence.

Variant nucleotide sequences also include synthetically derivednucleotide sequences, such as those generated, for example, by usingsite-directed mutagenesis but which still encode a pesticidal protein ofthe embodiments, such as a mutant toxin. Generally, variants of aparticular nucleotide sequence of the embodiments will have at leastabout 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%,95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more sequence identity to that particularnucleotide sequence as determined by sequence alignment programsdescribed elsewhere herein using default parameters. A variant of anucleotide sequence of the embodiments may differ from that sequence byas few as 1-15 nucleotides, as few as 1-10, such as 6-10, as few as 5,as few as 4, 3, 2, or even 1 nucleotide.

Variants of a particular nucleotide sequence of the embodiments (i.e.,an exemplary nucleotide sequence) can also be evaluated by comparison ofthe percent sequence identity between the polypeptide encoded by avariant nucleotide sequence and the polypeptide encoded by the referencenucleotide sequence. Thus, for example, isolated nucleic acids thatencode a polypeptide with a given percent sequence identity to thepolypeptides of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6 or SEQ ID NO: 8are disclosed. Percent sequence identity between any two polypeptidescan be calculated using sequence alignment programs described elsewhereherein using default parameters. Where any given pair of polynucleotidesof the embodiments is evaluated by comparison of the percent sequenceidentity shared by the two polypeptides they encode, the percentsequence identity between the two encoded polypeptides is at least about40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, generally at least about 75%, 80%,85%, at least about 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, or at leastabout 98%, 99% or more sequence identity.

As used herein, the term “variant protein” encompasses polypeptides thatare derived from a native protein by: deletion (so-called truncation) oraddition of one or more amino acids to the N-terminal and/or C-terminalend of the native protein; deletion or addition of one or more aminoacids at one or more sites in the native protein; or substitution of oneor more amino acids at one or more sites in the native protein.Accordingly, the term “variant protein” encompasses biologically activefragments of a native protein that comprise a sufficient number ofcontiguous amino acid residues to retain the biological activity of thenative protein, i.e., to have pesticidal activity. Such pesticidalactivity may be different or improved relative to the native protein orit may be unchanged, so long as pesticidal activity is retained.

Variant proteins encompassed by the embodiments are biologically active,that is they continue to possess the desired biological activity of thenative protein, that is, pesticidal activity as described herein. Suchvariants may result from, for example, genetic polymorphism or fromhuman manipulation. Biologically active variants of a native pesticidalprotein of the embodiments will have at least about 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%,80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98%, 99%, or more sequence identity to the amino acid sequence for thenative protein as determined by sequence alignment programs describedelsewhere herein using default parameters. A biologically active variantof a protein of the embodiments may differ from that protein by as fewas 1-15 amino acid residues, as few as 1-10, such as 6-10, as few as 5,as few as 4, 3, 2, or even 1 amino acid residue.

In some embodiment the insecticidal polypeptide has at least 60%, 65%,70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more sequence identity to the amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 8.

In some embodiments the polypeptide has a modified physical property. Asused herein, the term “physical property” refers to any parametersuitable for describing the physical-chemical characteristics of aprotein. As used herein, “physical property of interest” and “propertyof interest” are used interchangeably to refer to physical properties ofproteins that are being investigated and/or modified. Examples ofphysical properties include, but are not limited to net surface chargeand charge distribution on the protein surface, net hydrophobicity andhydrophobic residue distribution on the protein surface, surface chargedensity, surface hydrophobicity density, total count of surfaceionizable groups, surface tension, protein size and its distribution insolution, melting temperature, heat capacity, and second virialcoefficient. Examples of physical properties also include, but are notlimited to solubility, folding, stability, and digestibility. In someembodiments the polypeptide has increased digestibility of proteolyticfragments in an insect gut. In some embodiments the polypeptide hasincreased stability in an insect gut. Models for digestion by simulatedsimulated gastric fluids are known to one skilled in the art (Fuchs, R.L. and J. D. Astwood. Food Technology 50: 83-88, 1996; Astwood, J. D.,et al Nature Biotechnology 14: 1269-1273, 1996; Fu T J et al J. AgricFood Chem. 50: 7154-7160, 2002).

The embodiments further encompass a microorganism that is transformedwith at least one nucleic acid of the embodiments, with an expressioncassette comprising the nucleic acid, or with a vector comprising theexpression cassette. In some embodiments, the microorganism is one thatmultiplies on plants. An embodiment of the disclosure relates to anencapsulated pesticidal protein which comprises a transformedmicroorganism capable of expressing at least one pesticidal protein ofthe embodiments.

The embodiments provide pesticidal compositions comprising a transformedmicroorganism of the embodiments. In such embodiments, the transformedmicroorganism is generally present in the pesticidal composition in apesticidally effective amount, together with a suitable carrier. Theembodiments also encompass pesticidal compositions comprising anisolated protein of the embodiments, alone or in combination with atransformed organism of the embodiments and/or an encapsulatedpesticidal protein of the embodiments, in an insecticidally effectiveamount, together with a suitable carrier.

The embodiments further provide a method of increasing insect targetrange by using a pesticidal protein of the embodiments in combinationwith at least one other or “second” pesticidal protein. Any pesticidalprotein known in the art can be employed in the methods of theembodiments. Such pesticidal proteins include, but are not limited to,Bt toxins, protease inhibitors, α-amylases, and peroxidases.

The embodiments also encompass transformed or transgenic plantscomprising at least one nucleotide sequence of the embodiments. In someembodiments, the plant is stably transformed with a nucleotide constructcomprising at least one nucleotide sequence of the embodiments operablylinked to a promoter that drives expression in a plant cell. As usedherein, the terms “transformed plant” and “transgenic plant” refer to aplant that comprises within its genome a heterologous polynucleotide.Generally, the heterologous polynucleotide is stably integrated withinthe genome of a transgenic or transformed plant such that thepolynucleotide is passed on to successive generations. The heterologouspolynucleotide may be integrated into the genome alone or as part of arecombinant expression cassette.

It is to be understood that as used herein the term “transgenic”includes any cell, cell line, callus, tissue, plant part, or plant thegenotype of which has been altered by the presence of heterologousnucleic acid including those transgenics initially so altered as well asthose created by sexual crosses or asexual propagation from the initialtransgenic. The term “transgenic” as used herein does not encompass thealteration of the genome (chromosomal or extra-chromosomal) byconventional plant breeding methods or by naturally occurring eventssuch as random cross-fertilization, non-recombinant viral infection,non-recombinant bacterial transformation, non-recombinant transposition,or spontaneous mutation.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes whole plants, plant organs(e.g., leaves, stems, roots, etc.), seeds, plant cells, and progeny ofsame. Parts of transgenic plants are within the scope of the embodimentsand comprise, for example, plant cells, plant protoplasts, plant celltissue cultures from which plants can be regenerated, plant calli, plantclumps, and plant cells that are intact in plants or parts of plantssuch as embryos, pollen, ovules, seeds, leaves, flowers, branches,fruit, kernels, ears, cobs, husks, stalks, roots, root tips, anthers,and the like, originating in transgenic plants or their progenypreviously transformed with a DNA molecule of the embodiments andtherefore consisting at least in part of transgenic cells. The class ofplants that can be used in the methods of the embodiments is generallyas broad as the class of higher plants amenable to transformationtechniques, including both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants.

While the embodiments do not depend on a particular biological mechanismfor increasing the resistance of a plant to a plant pest, expression ofthe nucleotide sequences of the embodiments in a plant can result in theproduction of the pesticidal proteins of the embodiments and in anincrease in the resistance of the plant to a plant pest. The plants ofthe embodiments find use in agriculture in methods for impacting insectpests. Certain embodiments provide transformed crop plants, such as, forexample, maize plants, which find use in methods for impacting insectpests of the plant, such as, for example, Lepidopteran pests.

A “subject plant or plant cell” is one in which genetic alteration, suchas transformation, has been affected as to a gene of interest, or is aplant or plant cell which is descended from a plant or cell so alteredand which comprises the alteration. A “control” or “control plant” or“control plant cell” provides a reference point for measuring changes inphenotype of the subject plant or plant cell.

A control plant or plant cell may comprise, for example: (a) a wild-typeplant or cell, i.e., of the same genotype as the starting material forthe genetic alteration which resulted in the subject plant or cell; (b)a plant or plant cell of the same genotype as the starting material butwhich has been transformed with a null construct (i.e., with a constructwhich has no known effect on the trait of interest, such as a constructcomprising a marker gene); (c) a plant or plant cell which is anon-transformed segregant among progeny of a subject plant or plantcell; (d) a plant or plant cell genetically identical to the subjectplant or plant cell but which is not exposed to conditions or stimulithat would induce expression of the gene of interest; or (e) the subjectplant or plant cell itself, under conditions in which the gene ofinterest is not expressed.

One of skill in the art will readily acknowledge that advances in thefield of molecular biology such as site-specific and random mutagenesis,polymerase chain reaction methodologies, and protein engineeringtechniques provide an extensive collection of tools and protocolssuitable for use to alter or engineer both the amino acid sequence andunderlying genetic sequences of proteins of agricultural interest.

Thus, the proteins of the embodiments may be altered in various waysincluding amino acid substitutions, deletions, truncations, andinsertions. Methods for such manipulations are generally known in theart. For example, amino acid sequence variants of the pesticidalproteins can be prepared by introducing mutations into a syntheticnucleic acid (e.g., DNA molecule). Methods for mutagenesis and nucleicacid alterations are well known in the art. For example, designedchanges can be introduced using an oligonucleotide-mediatedsite-directed mutagenesis technique. See, for example, Kunkel (1985)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:488-492; Kunkel et al. (1987) Methods inEnzymol. 154:367-382; U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,192; Walker and Gaastra, eds.(1983) Techniques in Molecular Biology (MacMillan Publishing Company,New York), and the references cited therein.

The mutagenized nucleotide sequences of the embodiments may be modifiedso as to change about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 or more of the aminoacids present in the primary sequence of the encoded polypeptide.Alternatively, even more changes from the native sequence may beintroduced such that the encoded protein may have at least about 1% or2%, or about 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, or even about13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, or 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, or 25%,30%, 35%, or 40% or more of the codons altered, or otherwise modifiedcompared to the corresponding wild-type protein. In the same manner, theencoded protein may have at least about 1% or 2%, or about 3%, 4%, 5%,6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, or even about 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%,18%, 19%, or 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, or 25%, 30%, 35%, or 40% or moreadditional codons compared to the corresponding wild-type protein. Itshould be understood that the mutagenized nucleotide sequences of theembodiments are intended to encompass biologically functional,equivalent peptides which have pesticidal activity, such as an improvedpesticidal activity as determined by antifeedant properties againstEuropean corn borer larvae. Such sequences may arise as a consequence ofcodon redundancy and functional equivalency that are known to occurnaturally within nucleic acid sequences and the proteins thus encoded.

One of skill in the art would recognize that amino acid additions and/orsubstitutions are generally based on the relative similarity of theamino acid side-chain substituents, for example, their hydrophobicity,charge, size, and the like. Exemplary amino acid substitution groupsthat take various of the foregoing characteristics into considerationare well known to those of skill in the art and include: arginine andlysine; glutamate and aspartate; serine and threonine; glutamine andasparagine; and valine, leucine, and isoleucine.

Guidance as to appropriate amino acid substitutions that do not affectbiological activity of the protein of interest may be found in the modelof Dayhoff et al. (1978) Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure (Natl.Biomed. Res. Found., Washington, D.C.), herein incorporated byreference. Conservative substitutions, such as exchanging one amino acidwith another having similar properties, may be made.

Thus, the genes and nucleotide sequences of the embodiments include boththe naturally occurring sequences and mutant forms. Likewise, theproteins of the embodiments encompass both naturally occurring proteinsand variations (e.g., truncated polypeptides) and modified (e.g.,mutant) forms thereof. Such variants will continue to possess thedesired pesticidal activity. Obviously, the mutations that will be madein the nucleotide sequence encoding the variant must not place thesequence out of reading frame and generally will not createcomplementary regions that could produce secondary mRNA structure. See,EP Patent Application Publication No. 75,444.

The deletions, insertions, and substitutions of the protein sequencesencompassed herein are not expected to produce radical changes in thecharacteristics of the protein. However, when it is difficult to predictthe exact effect of the substitution, deletion, or insertion in advanceof doing so, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the effect willbe evaluated by routine screening assays, such as insect-feeding assays.See, for example, Marrone et al. (1985) J. Econ. Entomol. 78: 290-293and Czapla and Lang (1990) J. Econ. Entomol. 83: 2480-2485, hereinincorporated by reference.

Variant nucleotide sequences and proteins also encompass sequences andproteins derived from a mutagenic and recombinogenic procedure such asDNA shuffling. With such a procedure, one or more different codingsequences can be manipulated to create a new pesticidal proteinpossessing the desired properties. In this manner, libraries ofrecombinant polynucleotides are generated from a population of relatedsequence polynucleotides comprising sequence regions that havesubstantial sequence identity and can be homologously recombined invitro or in vivo. For example, using this approach, full-length codingsequences, sequence motifs encoding a domain of interest, or anyfragment of a nucleotide sequence of the embodiments may be shuffledbetween the nucleotide sequences of the embodiments and correspondingportions of other known Cry nucleotide sequences to obtain a new genecoding for a protein with an improved property of interest.

Properties of interest include, but are not limited to, pesticidalactivity per unit of pesticidal protein, protein stability, and toxicityto non-target species particularly humans, livestock, and plants andmicrobes that express the pesticidal polypeptides of the embodiments.The embodiments are not bound by a particular shuffling strategy, onlythat at least one nucleotide sequence of the embodiments, or partthereof, is involved in such a shuffling strategy. Shuffling may involveonly nucleotide sequences disclosed herein or may additionally involveshuffling of other nucleotide sequences known in the art. Strategies forDNA shuffling are known in the art. See, for example, Stemmer (1994)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:10747-10751; Stemmer (1994) Nature370:389-391; Crameri et al. (1997) Nature Biotech. 15:436-438; Moore etal. (1997) J. Mol. Biol. 272:336-347; Zhang et al. (1997) Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. USA 94:4504-4509; Crameri et al. (1998) Nature 391:288-291;and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,793 and 5,837,458.

The nucleotide sequences of the embodiments can also be used to isolatecorresponding sequences from other organisms, particularly otherbacteria, and more particularly other Bacillus strains. In this manner,methods such as PCR, hybridization, and the like can be used to identifysuch sequences based on their sequence homology to the sequences setforth herein. Sequences that are selected based on their sequenceidentity to the entire sequences set forth herein or to fragmentsthereof are encompassed by the embodiments. Such sequences includesequences that are orthologs of the disclosed sequences. The term“orthologs” refers to genes derived from a common ancestral gene andwhich are found in different species as a result of speciation. Genesfound in different species are considered orthologs when theirnucleotide sequences and/or their encoded protein sequences sharesubstantial identity as defined elsewhere herein. Functions of orthologsare often highly conserved among species.

In a PCR approach, oligonucleotide primers can be designed for use inPCR reactions to amplify corresponding DNA sequences from cDNA orgenomic DNA extracted from any organism of interest. Methods fordesigning PCR primers and PCR cloning are generally known in the art andare disclosed in Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A LaboratoryManual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.),hereinafter “Sambrook”. See also Innis et al., eds. (1990) PCRProtocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications (Academic Press, NewYork); Innis and Gelfand, eds. (1995) PCR Strategies (Academic Press,New York); and Innis and Gelfand, eds. (1999) PCR Methods Manual(Academic Press, New York). Known methods of PCR include, but are notlimited to, methods using paired primers, nested primers, singlespecific primers, degenerate primers, gene-specific primers,vector-specific primers, partially-mismatched primers, and the like.

In hybridization techniques, all or part of a known nucleotide sequenceis used as a probe that selectively hybridizes to other correspondingnucleotide sequences present in a population of cloned genomic DNAfragments or cDNA fragments (i.e., genomic or cDNA libraries) from achosen organism. The hybridization probes may be genomic DNA fragments,cDNA fragments, RNA fragments, or other oligonucleotides, and may belabeled with a detectable group such as ³²P or any other detectablemarker. Thus, for example, probes for hybridization can be made bylabeling synthetic oligonucleotides based on the sequences of theembodiments. Methods for preparation of probes for hybridization and forconstruction of cDNA and genomic libraries are generally known in theart and are disclosed in Sambrook.

For example, an entire sequence disclosed herein, or one or moreportions thereof, may be used as a probe capable of specificallyhybridizing to corresponding sequences and messenger RNAs. To achievespecific hybridization under a variety of conditions, such probesinclude sequences that are unique to the sequences of the embodimentsand are generally at least about 10 or 20 nucleotides in length. Suchprobes may be used to amplify corresponding Cry sequences from a chosenorganism by PCR. This technique may be used to isolate additional codingsequences from a desired organism or as a diagnostic assay to determinethe presence of coding sequences in an organism. Hybridizationtechniques include hybridization screening of plated DNA libraries(either plaques or colonies; see, for example, Sambrook).

Hybridization of such sequences may be carried out under stringentconditions. The term “stringent conditions” or “stringent hybridizationconditions” as used herein refers to conditions under which a probe willhybridize to its target sequence to a detectably greater degree than toother sequences (e.g., at least 2-fold, 5-fold, or 10-fold overbackground). Stringent conditions are sequence-dependent and will bedifferent in different circumstances. By controlling the stringency ofthe hybridization and/or washing conditions, target sequences that are100% complementary to the probe can be identified (homologous probing).Alternatively, stringency conditions can be adjusted to allow somemismatching in sequences so that lower degrees of similarity aredetected (heterologous probing). Generally, a probe is less than about1000 or 500 nucleotides in length.

Typically, stringent conditions will be those in which the saltconcentration is less than about 1.5 M Na ion, typically about 0.01 to1.0 M Na ion concentration (or other salts) at pH 7.0 to 8.3 and thetemperature is at least about 30° C. for short probes (e.g., 10 to 50nucleotides) and at least about 60° C. for long probes (e.g., greaterthan 50 nucleotides). Stringent conditions may also be achieved with theaddition of destabilizing agents such as formamide. Exemplary lowstringency conditions include hybridization with a buffer solution of 30to 35% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) at 37° C.,and a wash in 1× to 2×SSC (20×SSC=3.0 M NaCl/0.3 M trisodium citrate) at50 to 55° C. Exemplary moderate stringency conditions includehybridization in 40 to 45% formamide, 1.0 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., anda wash in 0.5× to 1×SSC at 55 to 60° C. Exemplary high stringencyconditions include hybridization in 50% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at37° C., and a final wash in 0.1×SSC at 60 to 65° C. for at least about20 minutes. Optionally, wash buffers may comprise about 0.1% to about 1%SDS. The duration of hybridization is generally less than about 24hours, usually about 4 to about 12 hours.

The following terms are used to describe the sequence relationshipsbetween two or more nucleic acids or polynucleotides: (a) “referencesequence”, (b) “comparison window”, (c) “sequence identity”, (d)“percentage of sequence identity”, and (e) “substantial identity”.

(a) As used herein, “reference sequence” is a defined sequence used as abasis for sequence comparison. A reference sequence may be a subset orthe entirety of a specified sequence; for example, as a segment of afull-length cDNA or gene sequence, or the complete cDNA or genesequence.

(b) As used herein, “comparison window” makes reference to a contiguousand specified segment of a polynucleotide sequence, wherein thepolynucleotide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additionsor deletions (i.e., gaps) compared to the reference sequence (which doesnot comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the twosequences. Generally, the comparison window is at least 20 contiguousnucleotides in length, and optionally can be 30, 40, 50, 100, or longer.Those of skill in the art understand that to avoid a high similarity toa reference sequence due to inclusion of gaps in the polynucleotidesequence a gap penalty is typically introduced and is subtracted fromthe number of matches.

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in theart. Thus, the determination of percent sequence identity between anytwo sequences can be accomplished using a mathematical algorithm.Non-limiting examples of such mathematical algorithms are the algorithmof Myers and Miller (1988) CABIOS 4:11-17; the local alignment algorithmof Smith et al. (1981) Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482; the global alignmentalgorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (1970) J. Mol. Biol. 48:443-453; thesearch-for-local alignment method of Pearson and Lipman (1988) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:2444-2448; the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul(1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 872264, as modified in Karlin andAltschul (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5877.

Computer implementations of these mathematical algorithms can beutilized for comparison of sequences to determine sequence identity.Such implementations include, but are not limited to: CLUSTAL in thePC/Gene program (available from Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif.);the ALIGN program (Version 2.0) and GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA, andTFASTA in the GCG Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Version 10(available from Accelrys Inc., 9685 Scranton Road, San Diego, Calif.,USA). Alignments using these programs can be performed using the defaultparameters. The CLUSTAL program is well described by Higgins et al.(1988) Gene 73:237-244 (1988); Higgins et al. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153;Corpet et al. (1988) Nucleic Acids Res. 16:10881-90; Huang et al. (1992)CABIOS 8:155-65; and Pearson et al. (1994) Meth. Mol. Biol. 24:307-331.The ALIGN program is based on the algorithm of Myers and Miller (1988)supra. A PAM120 weight residue table, a gap length penalty of 12, and agap penalty of 4 can be used with the ALIGN program when comparing aminoacid sequences. The BLAST programs of Altschul et al (1990) J. Mol.Biol. 215:403 are based on the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul (1990)supra. BLAST nucleotide searches can be performed with the BLASTNprogram, score=100, wordlength=12, to obtain nucleotide sequenceshomologous to a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein of theembodiments. BLAST protein searches can be performed with the BLASTXprogram, score=50, wordlength=3, to obtain amino acid sequenceshomologous to a protein or polypeptide of the embodiments. To obtaingapped alignments for comparison purposes, Gapped BLAST (in BLAST 2.0)can be utilized as described in Altschul et al. (1997) Nucleic AcidsRes. 25:3389. Alternatively, PSI-BLAST (in BLAST 2.0) can be used toperform an iterated search that detects distant relationships betweenmolecules. See Altschul et al. (1997) supra. When utilizing BLAST,Gapped BLAST, PSI-BLAST, the default parameters of the respectiveprograms (e.g., BLASTN for nucleotide sequences, BLASTX for proteins)can be used. See the National Center for Biotechnology Informationwebsite on the world wide web at ncbi.hlm.nih.gov. Alignment may also beperformed manually by inspection.

(c) As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context oftwo nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences makes reference to theresidues in the two sequences that are the same when aligned for maximumcorrespondence over a specified comparison window. When percentage ofsequence identity is used in reference to proteins it is recognized thatresidue positions which are not identical often differ by conservativeamino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted forother amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g., chargeor hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional propertiesof the molecule. When sequences differ in conservative substitutions,the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for theconservative nature of the substitution. Sequences that differ by suchconservative substitutions are said to have “sequence similarity” or“similarity”. Means for making this adjustment are well known to thoseof skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservativesubstitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, therebyincreasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where anidentical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservativesubstitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution isgiven a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservativesubstitutions is calculated, e.g., as implemented in the program PC/GENE(Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif.).

(d) As used herein, “percentage of sequence identity” means the valuedetermined by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over acomparison window, wherein the portion of the polynucleotide sequence inthe comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps)as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additionsor deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. The percentageis calculated by determining the number of positions at which theidentical nucleic acid base or amino acid residue occurs in bothsequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the numberof matched positions by the total number of positions in the window ofcomparison, and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage ofsequence identity.

(e)(i) The term “substantial identity” of polynucleotide sequences meansthat a polynucleotide comprises a sequence that has at least 70%. 80%,90%, or 95% or more sequence identity when compared to a referencesequence using one of the alignment programs described using standardparameters. One of skill in the art will recognize that these values canbe appropriately adjusted to determine corresponding identity ofproteins encoded by two nucleotide sequences by taking into accountcodon degeneracy, amino acid similarity, reading frame positioning, andthe like. Substantial identity of amino acid sequences for thesepurposes generally means sequence identity of at least 60%, 70%, 80%,90%, or 95% or more sequence identity.

Another indication that nucleotide sequences are substantially identicalis if two molecules hybridize to each other under stringent conditions.Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5° C. lowerthan the T_(m) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength andpH. However, stringent conditions encompass temperatures in the range ofabout 1° C. to about 20° C. lower than the T_(m), depending upon thedesired degree of stringency as otherwise qualified herein. Nucleicacids that do not hybridize to each other under stringent conditions arestill substantially identical if the polypeptides they encode aresubstantially identical. This may occur, e.g., when a copy of a nucleicacid is created using the maximum codon degeneracy permitted by thegenetic code. One indication that two nucleic acid sequences aresubstantially identical is when the polypeptide encoded by the firstnucleic acid is immunologically cross reactive with the polypeptideencoded by the second nucleic acid.

(e)(ii) The term “substantial identity” in the context of a peptideindicates that a peptide comprises a sequence with at least 70%, 80%,85%, 90%, 95%, or more sequence identity to a reference sequence over aspecified comparison window. Optimal alignment for these purposes can beconducted using the global alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch(1970) supra. An indication that two peptide sequences are substantiallyidentical is that one peptide is immunologically reactive withantibodies raised against the second peptide. Thus, a peptide issubstantially identical to a second peptide, for example, where the twopeptides differ only by a conservative substitution. Peptides that are“substantially similar” share sequences as noted above except thatresidue positions that are not identical may differ by conservativeamino acid changes.

The use of the term “nucleotide constructs” herein is not intended tolimit the embodiments to nucleotide constructs comprising DNA. Those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that nucleotide constructs,particularly polynucleotides and oligonucleotides composed ofribonucleotides and combinations of ribonucleotides anddeoxyribonucleotides, may also be employed in the methods disclosedherein. The nucleotide constructs, nucleic acids, and nucleotidesequences of the embodiments additionally encompass all complementaryforms of such constructs, molecules, and sequences. Further, thenucleotide constructs, nucleotide molecules, and nucleotide sequences ofthe embodiments encompass all nucleotide constructs, molecules, andsequences which can be employed in the methods of the embodiments fortransforming plants including, but not limited to, those comprised ofdeoxyribonucleotides, ribonucleotides, and combinations thereof. Suchdeoxyribonucleotides and ribonucleotides include both naturallyoccurring molecules and synthetic analogues. The nucleotide constructs,nucleic acids, and nucleotide sequences of the embodiments alsoencompass all forms of nucleotide constructs including, but not limitedto, single-stranded forms, double-stranded forms, hairpins,stem-and-loop structures, and the like.

A further embodiment relates to a transformed organism such as anorganism selected from the group consisting of plant and insect cells,bacteria, yeast, baculoviruses, protozoa, nematodes, and algae. Thetransformed organism comprises: a DNA molecule of the embodiments, anexpression cassette comprising the said DNA molecule, or a vectorcomprising the said expression cassette, which may be stablyincorporated into the genome of the transformed organism.

The sequences of the embodiments are provided in DNA constructs forexpression in the organism of interest. The construct will include 5′and 3′ regulatory sequences operably linked to a sequence of theembodiments. The term “operably linked” as used herein refers to afunctional linkage between a promoter and a second sequence, wherein thepromoter sequence initiates and mediates transcription of the DNAsequence corresponding to the second sequence. Generally, operablylinked means that the nucleic acid sequences being linked are contiguousand, where necessary to join two protein coding regions, contiguous andin the same reading frame. The construct may additionally contain atleast one additional gene to be cotransformed into the organism.Alternatively, the additional gene(s) can be provided on multiple DNAconstructs.

Such a DNA construct is provided with a plurality of restriction sitesfor insertion of the Cry toxin sequence to be under the transcriptionalregulation of the regulatory regions. The DNA construct may additionallycontain selectable marker genes.

The DNA construct will include in the 5′ to 3′ direction oftranscription: a transcriptional and translational initiation region(i.e., a promoter), a DNA sequence of the embodiments, and atranscriptional and translational termination region (i.e., terminationregion) functional in the organism serving as a host. Thetranscriptional initiation region (i.e., the promoter) may be native,analogous, foreign or heterologous to the host organism and/or to thesequence of the embodiments. Additionally, the promoter may be thenatural sequence or alternatively a synthetic sequence. The term“foreign” as used herein indicates that the promoter is not found in thenative organism into which the promoter is introduced. Where thepromoter is “foreign” or “heterologous” to the sequence of theembodiments, it is intended that the promoter is not the native ornaturally occurring promoter for the operably linked sequence of theembodiments. As used herein, a chimeric gene comprises a coding sequenceoperably linked to a transcription initiation region that isheterologous to the coding sequence. Where the promoter is a native ornatural sequence, the expression of the operably linked sequence isaltered from the wild-type expression, which results in an alteration inphenotype.

The termination region may be native with the transcriptional initiationregion, may be native with the operably linked DNA sequence of interest,may be native with the plant host, or may be derived from another source(i.e., foreign or heterologous to the promoter, the sequence ofinterest, the plant host, or any combination thereof).

Convenient termination regions are available from the Ti-plasmid of A.tumefaciens, such as the octopine synthase and nopaline synthasetermination regions. See also Guerineau et al. (1991) Mol. Gen. Genet.262:141-144; Proudfoot (1991) Cell 64:671-674; Sanfacon et al. (1991)Genes Dev. 5:141-149; Mogen et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2:1261-1272; Munroeet al. (1990) Gene 91:151-158; Ballas et al. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res.17:7891-7903; and Joshi et al. (1987) Nucleic Acid Res. 15:9627-9639.

Where appropriate, a nucleic acid may be optimized for increasedexpression in the host organism. Thus, where the host organism is aplant, the synthetic nucleic acids can be synthesized usingplant-preferred codons for improved expression. See, for example,Campbell and Gowri (1990) Plant Physiol. 92:1-11 for a discussion ofhost-preferred codon usage. For example, although nucleic acid sequencesof the embodiments may be expressed in both monocotyledonous anddicotyledonous plant species, sequences can be modified to account forthe specific codon preferences and GC content preferences ofmonocotyledons or dicotyledons as these preferences have been shown todiffer (Murray et al. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498). Thus, themaize-preferred codon for a particular amino acid may be derived fromknown gene sequences from maize. Maize codon usage for 28 genes frommaize plants is listed in Table 4 of Murray et al., supra. Methods areavailable in the art for synthesizing plant-preferred genes. See, forexample, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,831, and 5,436,391, and Murray et al.(1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498, herein incorporated by reference.

Additional sequence modifications are known to enhance gene expressionin a cellular host. These include elimination of sequences encodingspurious polyadenylation signals, exon-intron splice site signals,transposon-like repeats, and other well-characterized sequences that maybe deleterious to gene expression. The GC content of the sequence may beadjusted to levels average for a given cellular host, as calculated byreference to known genes expressed in the host cell. The term “hostcell” as used herein refers to a cell which contains a vector andsupports the replication and/or expression of the expression vector isintended. Host cells may be prokaryotic cells such as E. coli, oreukaryotic cells such as yeast, insect, amphibian, or mammalian cells,or monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous plant cells. An example of amonocotyledonous host cell is a maize host cell. When possible, thesequence is modified to avoid predicted hairpin secondary mRNAstructures.

The expression cassettes may additionally contain 5′ leader sequences.Such leader sequences can act to enhance translation. Translationleaders are known in the art and include: picornavirus leaders, forexample, EMCV leader (Encephalomyocarditis 5′ noncoding region)(Elroy-Stein et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86: 6126-6130);potyvirus leaders, for example, TEV leader (Tobacco Etch Virus) (Gallieet al. (1995) Gene 165(2): 233-238), MDMV leader (Maize Dwarf MosaicVirus), human immunoglobulin heavy-chain binding protein (BiP) (Macejaket al. (1991) Nature 353: 90-94); untranslated leader from the coatprotein mRNA of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV RNA 4) (Jobling et al. (1987)Nature 325: 622-625); tobacco mosaic virus leader (TMV) (Gallie et al.(1989) in Molecular Biology of RNA, ed. Cech (Liss, New York), pp.237-256); and maize chlorotic mottle virus leader (MCMV) (Lommel et al.(1991) Virology 81: 382-385). See also, Della-Cioppa et al. (1987) PlantPhysiol. 84: 965-968.

In preparing the expression cassette, the various DNA fragments may bemanipulated so as to provide for the DNA sequences in the properorientation and, as appropriate, in the proper reading frame. Towardthis end, adapters or linkers may be employed to join the DNA fragmentsor other manipulations may be involved to provide for convenientrestriction sites, removal of superfluous DNA, removal of restrictionsites, or the like. For this purpose, in vitro mutagenesis, primerrepair, restriction, annealing, resubstitutions, e.g., transitions andtransversions, may be involved.

A number of promoters can be used in the practice of the embodiments.The promoters can be selected based on the desired outcome. The nucleicacids can be combined with constitutive, tissue-preferred, inducible, orother promoters for expression in the host organism. Suitableconstitutive promoters for use in a plant host cell include, forexample, the core promoter of the Rsyn7 promoter and other constitutivepromoters disclosed in WO 99/43838 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,050; the coreCaMV 35S promoter (Odell et al. (1985) Nature 313: 810-812); rice actin(McElroy et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 163-171); ubiquitin (Christensen etal. (1989) Plant Mol. Biol. 12: 619-632 and Christensen et al. (1992)Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 675-689); pEMU (Last et al. (1991) Theor. Appl.Genet. 81: 581-588); MAS (Velten et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:2723-2730); ALSpromoter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,026), and the like. Other constitutivepromoters include, for example, those discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,608,149; 5,608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597; 5,466,785; 5,399,680;5,268,463; 5,608,142; and 6,177,611.

Depending on the desired outcome, it may be beneficial to express thegene from an inducible promoter. Of particular interest for regulatingthe expression of the nucleotide sequences of the embodiments in plantsare wound-inducible promoters. Such wound-inducible promoters, mayrespond to damage caused by insect feeding, and include potatoproteinase inhibitor (pin II) gene (Ryan (1990) Ann. Rev. Phytopath. 28:425-449; Duan et al. (1996) Nature Biotechnology 14: 494-498); wun1 andwun2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,148; win1 and win2 (Stanford et al. (1989)Mol. Gen. Genet. 215: 200-208); systemin (McGurl et al. (1992) Science225: 1570-1573); WIP1 (Rohmeier et al. (1993) Plant Mol. Biol. 22:783-792; Eckelkamp et al. (1993) FEBS Letters 323: 73-76); MPI gene(Corderok et al. (1994) Plant J. 6(2): 141-150); and the like, hereinincorporated by reference.

Additionally, pathogen-inducible promoters may be employed in themethods and nucleotide constructs of the embodiments. Suchpathogen-inducible promoters include those from pathogenesis-relatedproteins (PR proteins), which are induced following infection by apathogen; e.g., PR proteins, SAR proteins, beta-1,3-glucanase,chitinase, etc. See, for example, Redolfi et al. (1983) Neth. J. PlantPathol. 89: 245-254; Uknes et al. (1992) Plant Cell 4: 645-656; and VanLoon (1985) Plant Mol. Virol. 4: 111-116. See also WO 99/43819, hereinincorporated by reference.

Of interest are promoters that are expressed locally at or near the siteof pathogen infection. See, for example, Marineau et al. (1987) PlantMol. Biol. 9:335-342; Matton et al. (1989) Molecular Plant-MicrobeInteractions 2:325-331; Somsisch et al. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 83:2427-2430; Somsisch et al. (1988) Mol. Gen. Genet. 2:93-98; andYang (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:14972-14977. See also, Chen etal. (1996) Plant J. 10:955-966; Zhang et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 91:2507-2511; Warner et al. (1993) Plant J. 3:191-201; Siebertzet al. (1989) Plant Cell 1:961-968; U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,386(nematode-inducible); and the references cited therein. Of particularinterest is the inducible promoter for the maize PRms gene, whoseexpression is induced by the pathogen Fusarium moniliforme (see, forexample, Cordero et al. (1992) Physiol. Mol. Plant Path. 41:189-200).

Chemical-regulated promoters can be used to modulate the expression of agene in a plant through the application of an exogenous chemicalregulator. Depending upon the objective, the promoter may be achemical-inducible promoter, where application of the chemical inducesgene expression, or a chemical-repressible promoter, where applicationof the chemical represses gene expression. Chemical-inducible promotersare known in the art and include, but are not limited to, the maizeIn2-2 promoter, which is activated by benzenesulfonamide herbicidesafeners, the maize GST promoter, which is activated by hydrophobicelectrophilic compounds that are used as pre-emergent herbicides, andthe tobacco PR-1a promoter, which is activated by salicylic acid. Otherchemical-regulated promoters of interest include steroid-responsivepromoters (see, for example, the glucocorticoid-inducible promoter inSchena et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:10421-10425 andMcNellis et al. (1998) Plant J. 14(2):247-257) andtetracycline-inducible and tetracycline-repressible promoters (see, forexample, Gatz et al. (1991) Mol. Gen. Genet. 227:229-237, and U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,814,618 and 5,789,156), herein incorporated by reference.

Tissue-preferred promoters can be utilized to target enhanced pesticidalprotein expression within a particular plant tissue. Tissue-preferredpromoters include those discussed in Yamamoto et al. (1997) Plant J.12(2)255-265; Kawamata et al. (1997) Plant Cell Physiol. 38(7):792-803;Hansen et al. (1997) Mol. Gen Genet. 254(3):337-343; Russell et al.(1997) Transgenic Res. 6(2):157-168; Rinehart et al. (1996) PlantPhysiol. 112(3):1331-1341; Van Camp et al. (1996) Plant Physiol.112(2):525-535; Canevascini et al. (1996) Plant Physiol. 112(2):513-524;Yamamoto et al. (1994) Plant Cell Physiol. 35(5):773-778; Lam (1994)Results Probl. Cell Differ. 20:181-196; Orozco et al. (1993) Plant MolBiol. 23(6):1129-1138; Matsuoka et al. (1993) Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA90(20):9586-9590; and Guevara-Garcia et al. (1993) Plant J.4(3):495-505. Such promoters can be modified, if necessary, for weakexpression.

Leaf-preferred promoters are known in the art. See, for example,Yamamoto et al. (1997) Plant J. 12(2):255-265; Kwon et al. (1994) PlantPhysiol. 105:357-67; Yamamoto et al. (1994) Plant Cell Physiol.35(5):773-778; Gotor et al. (1993) Plant J. 3:509-18; Orozco et al.(1993) Plant Mol. Biol. 23(6):1129-1138; and Matsuoka et al. (1993)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90(20):9586-9590.

Root-preferred or root-specific promoters are known and can be selectedfrom the many available from the literature or isolated de novo fromvarious compatible species. See, for example, Hire et al. (1992) PlantMol. Biol. 20(2):207-218 (soybean root-specific glutamine synthetasegene); Keller and Baumgartner (1991) Plant Cell 3(10):1051-1061(root-specific control element in the GRP 1.8 gene of French bean);Sanger et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 14(3):433-443 (root-specificpromoter of the mannopine synthase (MAS) gene of Agrobacteriumtumefaciens); and Miao et al. (1991) Plant Cell 3(1):11-22 (full-lengthcDNA clone encoding cytosolic glutamine synthetase (GS), which isexpressed in roots and root nodules of soybean). See also Bogusz et al.(1990) Plant Cell 2(7):633-641, where two root-specific promotersisolated from hemoglobin genes from the nitrogen-fixing nonlegumeParasponia andersonii and the related non-nitrogen-fixing nonlegumeTrema tomentosa are described. The promoters of these genes were linkedto a β-glucuronidase reporter gene and introduced into both thenonlegume Nicotiana tabacum and the legume Lotus comiculatus, and inboth instances root-specific promoter activity was preserved. Leach andAoyagi (1991) describe their analysis of the promoters of the highlyexpressed roIC and roID root-inducing genes of Agrobacterium rhizogenes(see Plant Science (Limerick) 79(1):69-76). They concluded that enhancerand tissue-preferred DNA determinants are dissociated in thosepromoters. Teeri et al. (1989) used gene fusion to lacZ to show that theAgrobacterium T-DNA gene encoding octopine synthase is especially activein the epidermis of the root tip and that the TR2′ gene is root specificin the intact plant and stimulated by wounding in leaf tissue, anespecially desirable combination of characteristics for use with aninsecticidal or larvicidal gene (see EMBO J. 8(2):343-350). The TR1′gene fused to nptll (neomycin phosphotransferase II) showed similarcharacteristics. Additional root-preferred promoters include theVfENOD-GRP3 gene promoter (Kuster et al. (1995) Plant Mol. Biol.29(4):759-772); and rolB promoter (Capana et al. (1994) Plant Mol. Biol.25(4):681-691. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,876; 5,750,386; 5,633,363;5,459,252; 5,401,836; 5,110,732; and 5,023,179.

“Seed-preferred” promoters include both “seed-specific” promoters (thosepromoters active during seed development such as promoters of seedstorage proteins) as well as “seed-germinating” promoters (thosepromoters active during seed germination). See Thompson et al. (1989)BioEssays 10:108, herein incorporated by reference. Such seed-preferredpromoters include, but are not limited to, Cim1 (cytokinin-inducedmessage); cZ19B1 (maize 19 kDa zein); and milps(myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase) (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,529, hereinincorporated by reference). Gamma-zein and Glob-1 are endosperm-specificpromoters. For dicots, seed-specific promoters include, but are notlimited to, bean β-phaseolin, napin, β-conglycinin, soybean lectin,cruciferin, and the like. For monocots, seed-specific promoters include,but are not limited to, maize 15 kDa zein, 22 kDa zein, 27 kDa zein,g-zein, waxy, shrunken 1, shrunken 2, globulin 1, etc. See also WO00/12733, where seed-preferred promoters from end1 and end2 genes aredisclosed; herein incorporated by reference. A promoter that has“preferred” expression in a particular tissue is expressed in thattissue to a greater degree than in at least one other plant tissue. Sometissue-preferred promoters show expression almost exclusively in theparticular tissue.

Where low level expression is desired, weak promoters will be used.Generally, the term “weak promoter” as used herein refers to a promoterthat drives expression of a coding sequence at a low level. By low levelexpression at levels of about 1/1000 transcripts to about 1/100,000transcripts to about 1/500,000 transcripts is intended. Alternatively,it is recognized that the term “weak promoters” also encompassespromoters that drive expression in only a few cells and not in others togive a total low level of expression. Where a promoter drives expressionat unacceptably high levels, portions of the promoter sequence can bedeleted or modified to decrease expression levels.

Such weak constitutive promoters include, for example the core promoterof the Rsyn7 promoter (WO 99/43838 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,050), thecore 35S CaMV promoter, and the like. Other constitutive promotersinclude, for example, those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,608,149;5,608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597; 5,466,785; 5,399,680; 5,268,463;5,608,142; and 6,177,611; herein incorporated by reference.

Generally, the expression cassette will comprise a selectable markergene for the selection of transformed cells. Selectable marker genes areutilized for the selection of transformed cells or tissues. Marker genesinclude genes encoding antibiotic resistance, such as those encodingneomycin phosphotransferase II (NEO) and hygromycin phosphotransferase(HPT), as well as genes conferring resistance to herbicidal compounds,such as glufosinate ammonium, bromoxynil, imidazolinones, and2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D). Additional examples of suitableselectable marker genes include, but are not limited to, genes encodingresistance to chloramphenicol (Herrera Estrella et al. (1983) EMBO J.2:987-992); methotrexate (Herrera Estrella et al. (1983) Nature303:209-213; and Meijer et al. (1991) Plant Mol. Biol. 16:807-820);streptomycin (Jones et al. (1987) Mol. Gen. Genet. 210:86-91);spectinomycin (Bretagne-Sagnard et al. (1996) Transgenic Res.5:131-137); bleomycin (Hille et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 7:171-176);sulfonamide (Guerineau et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 15:127-136);bromoxynil (Stalker et al. (1988) Science 242:419-423); glyphosate (Shawet al. (1986) Science 233:478-481; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,709,702; and7,462,481); phosphinothricin (DeBlock et al. (1987) EMBO J.6:2513-2518). See generally, Yarranton (1992) Curr. Opin. Biotech. 3:506-511; Christopherson et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6314-6318; Yao et al. (1992) Cell 71: 63-72; Reznikoff (1992) Mol.Microbiol. 6: 2419-2422; Barkley et al. (1980) in The Operon, pp.177-220; Hu et al. (1987) Cell 48: 555-566; Brown et al. (1987) Cell 49:603-612; Figge et al. (1988) Cell 52: 713-722; Deuschle et al. (1989)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86: 5400-5404; Fuerst et al. (1989) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86: 2549-2553; Deuschle et al. (1990) Science 248:480-483; Gossen (1993) Ph.D. Thesis, University of Heidelberg; Reines etal. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 1917-1921; Labow et al. (1990)Mol. Cell. Biol. 10: 3343-3356; Zambretti et al. (1992) Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. USA 89: 3952-3956; Baim et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 88: 5072-5076; Wyborski et al. (1991) Nucleic Acids Res. 19:4647-4653; Hillenand-Wissman (1989) Topics Mol. Struc. Biol. 10:143-162; Degenkolb et al. (1991) Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 35:1591-1595; Kleinschnidt et al. (1988) Biochemistry 27: 1094-1104; Bonin(1993) Ph.D. Thesis, University of Heidelberg; Gossen et al. (1992)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 5547-5551; Oliva et al. (1992)Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 36: 913-919; Hlavka et al. (1985) Handbookof Experimental Pharmacology, Vol. 78 (Springer-Verlag, Berlin); andGill et al. (1988) Nature 334: 721-724. Such disclosures are hereinincorporated by reference.

The above list of selectable marker genes is not meant to be limiting.Any selectable marker gene can be used in the embodiments.

The methods of the embodiments involve introducing a polypeptide orpolynucleotide into a plant. “Introducing” is intended to meanpresenting to the plant the polynucleotide or polypeptide in such amanner that the sequence gains access to the interior of a cell of theplant. The methods of the embodiments do not depend on a particularmethod for introducing a polynucleotide or polypeptide into a plant,only that the polynucleotide or polypeptides gains access to theinterior of at least one cell of the plant. Methods for introducingpolynucleotide or polypeptides into plants are known in the artincluding, but not limited to, stable transformation methods, transienttransformation methods, and virus-mediated methods.

“Stable transformation” is intended to mean that the nucleotideconstruct introduced into a plant integrates into the genome of theplant and is capable of being inherited by the progeny thereof.“Transient transformation” is intended to mean that a polynucleotide isintroduced into the plant and does not integrate into the genome of theplant or a polypeptide is introduced into a plant.

Transformation protocols as well as protocols for introducing nucleotidesequences into plants may vary depending on the type of plant or plantcell, i.e., monocot or dicot, targeted for transformation. Suitablemethods of introducing nucleotide sequences into plant cells andsubsequent insertion into the plant genome include microinjection(Crossway et al. (1986) Biotechniques 4: 320-334), electroporation(Riggs et al. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 5602-5606),Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,563,055 and5,981,840), direct gene transfer (Paszkowski et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:2717-2722), and ballistic particle acceleration (see, for example, U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,945,050; 5,879,918; 5,886,244; and 5,932,782; Tomes et al.(1995) in Plant Cell, Tissue, and Organ Culture: Fundamental Methods,ed. Gamborg and Phillips (Springer-Verlag, Berlin); and McCabe et al.(1988) Biotechnology 6: 923-926); and Lecl transformation (WO 00/28058).For potato transformation see Tu et al. (1998) Plant Molecular Biology37: 829-838 and Chong et al. (2000) Transgenic Research 9: 71-78.Additional transformation procedures can be found in Weissinger et al.(1988) Ann. Rev. Genet. 22: 421-477; Sanford et al. (1987) ParticulateScience and Technology 5: 27-37 (onion); Christou et al. (1988) PlantPhysiol. 87: 671-674 (soybean); McCabe et al. (1988) Bio/Technology 6:923-926 (soybean); Finer and McMullen (1991) In Vitro Cell Dev. Biol.27P: 175-182 (soybean); Singh et al. (1998) Theor. Appl. Genet. 96:319-324 (soybean); Datta et al. (1990) Biotechnology 8: 736-740 (rice);Klein et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 4305-4309 (maize);Klein et al. (1988) Biotechnology 6:559-563 (maize); U.S. Pat. Nos.5,240,855; 5,322,783 and 5,324,646; Klein et al. (1988) Plant Physiol.91: 440-444 (maize); Fromm et al. (1990) Biotechnology 8: 833-839(maize); Hooykaas-Van Slogteren et al. (1984) Nature (London) 311:763-764; U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,369 (cereals); Bytebier et al. (1987) Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 5345-5349 (Liliaceae); De Wet et al. (1985) inThe Experimental Manipulation of Ovule Tissues, ed. Chapman et al.(Longman, N.Y.), pp. 197-209 (pollen); Kaeppler et al. (1990) Plant CellReports 9: 415-418 and Kaeppler et al. (1992) Theor. Appl. Genet. 84:560-566 (whisker-mediated transformation); D'Halluin et al. (1992) PlantCell 4: 1495-1505 (electroporation); Li et al. (1993) Plant Cell Reports12: 250-255 and Christou and Ford (1995) Annals of Botany 75: 407-413(rice); Osjoda et al. (1996) Nature Biotechnology 14: 745-750 (maize viaAgrobacterium tumefaciens); all of which are herein incorporated byreference.

In specific embodiments, the sequences of the embodiments can beprovided to a plant using a variety of transient transformation methods.Such transient transformation methods include, but are not limited to,the introduction of the Cry toxin protein or variants and fragmentsthereof directly into the plant or the introduction of the Cry toxintranscript into the plant. Such methods include, for example,microinjection or particle bombardment. See, for example, Crossway etal. (1986) Mol Gen. Genet. 202: 179-185; Nomura et al. (1986) Plant Sci.44: 53-58; Hepler et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91: 2176-2180 andHush et al. (1994) The Journal of Cell Science 107: 775-784, all ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference. Alternatively, the Cry toxinpolynucleotide can be transiently transformed into the plant usingtechniques known in the art. Such techniques include viral vector systemand the precipitation of the polynucleotide in a manner that precludessubsequent release of the DNA. Thus, transcription from theparticle-bound DNA can occur, but the frequency with which it isreleased to become integrated into the genome is greatly reduced. Suchmethods include the use of particles coated with polyethylimine (PEI;Sigma #P3143).

Methods are known in the art for the targeted insertion of apolynucleotide at a specific location in the plant genome. In oneembodiment, the insertion of the polynucleotide at a desired genomiclocation is achieved using a site-specific recombination system. See,for example, WO99/25821, WO99/25854, WO99/25840, WO99/25855, andWO99/25853, all of which are herein incorporated by reference. Briefly,the polynucleotide of the embodiments can be contained in transfercassette flanked by two non-identical recombination sites. The transfercassette is introduced into a plant have stably incorporated into itsgenome a target site which is flanked by two non-identical recombinationsites that correspond to the sites of the transfer cassette. Anappropriate recombinase is provided and the transfer cassette isintegrated at the target site. The polynucleotide of interest is therebyintegrated at a specific chromosomal position in the plant genome.

The cells that have been transformed may be grown into plants inaccordance with conventional ways. See, for example, McCormick et al.(1986) Plant Cell Reports 5: 81-84. These plants may then be grown, andeither pollinated with the same transformed strain or different strains,and the resulting hybrid having constitutive or inducible expression ofthe desired phenotypic characteristic identified. Two or moregenerations may be grown to ensure that expression of the desiredphenotypic characteristic is stably maintained and inherited and thenseeds harvested to ensure that expression of the desired phenotypiccharacteristic has been achieved.

The nucleotide sequences of the embodiments may be provided to the plantby contacting the plant with a virus or viral nucleic acids. Generally,such methods involve incorporating the nucleotide construct of interestwithin a viral DNA or RNA molecule. It is recognized that therecombinant proteins of the embodiments may be initially synthesized aspart of a viral polyprotein, which later may be processed by proteolysisin vivo or in vitro to produce the desired pesticidal protein. It isalso recognized that such a viral polyprotein, comprising at least aportion of the amino acid sequence of a pesticidal protein of theembodiments, may have the desired pesticidal activity. Such viralpolyproteins and the nucleotide sequences that encode for them areencompassed by the embodiments. Methods for providing plants withnucleotide constructs and producing the encoded proteins in the plants,which involve viral DNA or RNA molecules are known in the art. See, forexample, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,889,191; 5,889,190; 5,866,785; 5,589,367; and5,316,931; herein incorporated by reference.

The embodiments further relate to plant-propagating material of atransformed plant of the embodiments including, but not limited to,seeds, tubers, corms, bulbs, leaves, and cuttings of roots and shoots.

The embodiments may be used for transformation of any plant species,including, but not limited to, monocots and dicots. Examples of plantsof interest include, but are not limited to, corn (Zea mays), Brassicasp. (e.g., B. napus, B. rapa, B. juncea), particularly those Brassicaspecies useful as sources of seed oil, alfalfa (Medicago sativa), rice(Oryza sativa), rye (Secale cereale), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, Sorghumvulgare), millet (e.g., pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), proso millet(Panicum miliaceum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), finger millet(Eleusine coracana)), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), safflower(Carthamus tinctorius), wheat (Triticum aestivum), soybean (Glycinemax), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), peanuts(Arachis hypogaea), cotton (Gossypium barbadense, Gossypium hirsutum),sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus), cassava (Manihot esculenta), coffee(Coffea spp.), coconut (Cocos nucifera), pineapple (Ananas comosus),citrus trees (Citrus spp.), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), tea (Camelliasinensis), banana (Musa spp.), avocado (Persea americana), fig (Ficuscasica), guava (Psidium guajava), mango (Mangifera indica), olive (Oleaeuropaea), papaya (Carica papaya), cashew (Anacardium occidentale),macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), almond (Prunus amygdalus), sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris), sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), oats, barley,vegetables, ornamentals, and conifers.

Vegetables include tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), lettuce (e.g.,Lactuca sativa), green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), lima beans (Phaseoluslimensis), peas (Lathyrus spp.), and members of the genus Cucumis suchas cucumber (C. sativus), cantaloupe (C. cantalupensis), and musk melon(C. melo). Ornamentals include azalea (Rhododendron spp.), hydrangea(Macrophylla hydrangea), hibiscus (Hibiscus rosasanensis), roses (Rosaspp.), tulips (Tulipa spp.), daffodils (Narcissus spp.), petunias(Petunia hybrida), carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), poinsettia(Euphorbia pulcherrima), and chrysanthemum. Conifers that may beemployed in practicing the embodiments include, for example, pines suchas loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), slash pine (Pinus efliotii), ponderosapine (Pinus ponderosa), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and Montereypine (Pinus radiata); Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); Westernhemlock (Tsuga canadensis); Sitka spruce (Picea glauca); redwood(Sequoia sempervirens); true firs such as silver fir (Abies amabilis)and balsam fir (Abies balsamea); and cedars such as Western red cedar(Thuja plicata) and Alaska yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis).Plants of the embodiments include crop plants, including, but notlimited to: corn, alfalfa, sunflower, Brassica spp., soybean, cotton,safflower, peanut, sorghum, wheat, millet, tobacco, sugarcane, etc.

Turfgrasses include, but are not limited to: annual bluegrass (Poaannua); annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum); Canada bluegrass (Poacompressa); Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra); colonial bentgrass(Agrostis tenuis); creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris); crestedwheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum); fairway wheatgrass (Agropyroncristatum); hard fescue (Festuca longifolia); Kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis); orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata); perennial ryegrass(Lolium perenne); red fescue (Festuca rubra); redtop (Agrostis alba);rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis); sheep fescue (Festuca ovina); smoothbromegrass (Bromus inermis); tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea); timothy(Phleum pratense); velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina); weepingalkaligrass (Puccineffla distans); western wheatgrass (Agropyronsmithii); Bermuda grass (Cynodon spp.); St. Augustine grass(Stenotaphrum secundatum); zoysia grass (Zoysia spp.); Bahia grass(Paspalum notatum); carpet grass (Axonopus affinis); centipede grass(Eremochloa ophiuroides); kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandesinum);seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum); blue gramma (Boutelouagracilis); buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloids); sideoats gramma(Bouteloua curtipendula).

Plants of interest include grain plants that provide seeds of interest,oil-seed plants, and leguminous plants. Seeds of interest include grainseeds, such as corn, wheat, barley, rice, sorghum, rye, millet, etc.Oil-seed plants include cotton, soybean, safflower, sunflower, Brassica,maize, alfalfa, palm, coconut, flax, castor, olive etc. Leguminousplants include beans and peas. Beans include guar, locust bean,fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mung bean, lima bean, favabean, lentils, chickpea, etc.

In certain embodiments the nucleic acid sequences of the embodiments canbe stacked with any combination of polynucleotide sequences of interestin order to create plants with a desired phenotype. For example, thepolynucleotides of the embodiments may be stacked with any otherpolynucleotides encoding polypeptides having pesticidal and/orinsecticidal activity, such as other Bt toxic proteins (described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,892; 5,747,450; 5,736,514; 5,723,756; 5,593,881;and Geiser et al. (1986) Gene 48:109), pentin (described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,981,722) and the like. The combinations generated can also includemultiple copies of any one of the polynucleotides of interest. Thepolynucleotides of the embodiments can also be stacked with any othergene or combination of genes to produce plants with a variety of desiredtrait combinations including but not limited to traits desirable foranimal feed such as high oil genes (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,529);balanced amino acids (e.g. hordothionins (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,990,389;5,885,801; 5,885,802; and 5,703,049); barley high lysine (Williamson etal. (1987) Eur. J. Biochem. 165: 99-106; and WO 98/20122) and highmethionine proteins (Pedersen et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261: 6279;Kirihara et al. (1988) Gene 71: 359; and Musumura et al. (1989) PlantMol. Biol. 12: 123)); increased digestibility (e.g., modified storageproteins (U.S. Pat. No. 6,858,778); and thioredoxins (U.S. Pat. No.7,009,087), the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference.

The polynucleotides of the embodiments can also be stacked with traitsdesirable for disease or herbicide resistance (e.g., fumonisindetoxification genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,931); avirulence and diseaseresistance genes (Jones et al. (1994) Science 266:789; Martin et al.(1993) Science 262: 1432; and Mindrinos et al. (1994) Cell 78:1089);acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutants that lead to herbicide resistancesuch as the S4 and/or Hra mutations; inhibitors of glutamine synthasesuch as phosphinothricin or basta (e.g., bar gene); and glyphosateresistance (EPSPS gene and GAT gene as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,709,702; and 7,462,481; and traits desirable for processing or processproducts such as high oil (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,529); modified oils(e.g., fatty acid desaturase genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,544; WO94/11516)); modified starches (e.g., ADPG pyrophosphorylases (AGPase),starch synthases (SS), starch branching enzymes (SBE) and starchdebranching enzymes (SDBE)); and polymers or bioplastics (e.g., U.S.Pat. No. 5,602,321; beta-ketothiolase, polyhydroxybutyrate synthase, andacetoacetyl-CoA reductase (Schubert et al. (1988) J. Bacteriol. 170:5837-5847) facilitate expression of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)), thedisclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. One couldalso combine the polynucleotides of the embodiments with polynucleotidesproviding agronomic traits such as male sterility (e.g., see U.S. Pat.No. 5,583,210), stalk strength, flowering time, or transformationtechnology traits such as cell cycle regulation or gene targeting (e.g.WO 99/61619; WO 00/17364; WO 99/25821), the disclosures of which areherein incorporated by reference.

In some embodiment the stacked trait may be a trait or event that hasreceived regulatory approval which are well known to one skilled in theart and can be found at the Center for Environmental Risk Assessment(cera-gmc.org/?action=gm_crop_database, which can be accessed using thewww prefix) and at the International Service for the Acquisition ofAgri-Biotech Applications isaaa.org/gmapprovaldatabase/default.asp,which can be accessed using the www prefix).

These stacked combinations can be created by any method including butnot limited to cross breeding plants by any conventional or TOPCROSS®methodology, or genetic transformation. If the traits are stacked bygenetically transforming the plants, the polynucleotide sequences ofinterest can be combined at any time and in any order. For example, atransgenic plant comprising one or more desired traits can be used asthe target to introduce further traits by subsequent transformation. Thetraits can be introduced simultaneously in a co-transformation protocolwith the polynucleotides of interest provided by any combination oftransformation cassettes. For example, if two sequences will beintroduced, the two sequences can be contained in separatetransformation cassettes (trans) or contained on the same transformationcassette (cis). Expression of the sequences can be driven by the samepromoter or by different promoters. In certain cases, it may bedesirable to introduce a transformation cassette that will suppress theexpression of the polynucleotide of interest. This may be combined withany combination of other suppression cassettes or overexpressioncassettes to generate the desired combination of traits in the plant. Itis further recognized that polynucleotide sequences can be stacked at adesired genomic location using a site-specific recombination system.See, for example, WO99/25821, WO99/25854, WO99/25840, WO99/25855, andWO99/25853, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.

Compositions of the embodiments find use in protecting plants, seeds,and plant products in a variety of ways. For example, the compositionscan be used in a method that involves placing an effective amount of thepesticidal composition in the environment of the pest by a procedureselected from the group consisting of spraying, dusting, broadcasting,or seed coating.

Before plant propagation material (fruit, tuber, bulb, corm, grains,seed), but especially seed, is sold as a commercial product, it iscustomarily treated with a protectant coating comprising herbicides,insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, nematicides, molluscicides, ormixtures of several of these preparations, if desired together withfurther carriers, surfactants, or application-promoting adjuvantscustomarily employed in the art of formulation to provide protectionagainst damage caused by bacterial, fungal, or animal pests. In order totreat the seed, the protectant coating may be applied to the seedseither by impregnating the tubers or grains with a liquid formulation orby coating them with a combined wet or dry formulation. In addition, inspecial cases, other methods of application to plants are possible,e.g., treatment directed at the buds or the fruit.

The plant seed of the embodiments comprising a nucleotide sequenceencoding a pesticidal protein of the embodiments may be treated with aseed protectant coating comprising a seed treatment compound, such as,for example, captan, carboxin, thiram, methalaxyl, pirimiphos-methyl,and others that are commonly used in seed treatment. In one embodiment,a seed protectant coating comprising a pesticidal composition of theembodiments is used alone or in combination with one of the seedprotectant coatings customarily used in seed treatment.

It is recognized that the genes encoding the pesticidal proteins can beused to transform insect pathogenic organisms. Such organisms includebaculoviruses, fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and nematodes.

A gene encoding a pesticidal protein of the embodiments may beintroduced via a suitable vector into a microbial host, and said hostapplied to the environment, or to plants or animals. The term“introduced” in the context of inserting a nucleic acid into a cell,means “transfection” or “transformation” or “transduction” and includesreference to the incorporation of a nucleic acid into a eukaryotic orprokaryotic cell where the nucleic acid may be incorporated into thegenome of the cell (e.g., chromosome, plasmid, plastid, or mitochondrialDNA), converted into an autonomous replicon, or transiently expressed(e.g., transfected mRNA).

Microorganism hosts that are known to occupy the “phytosphere”(phylloplane, phyllosphere, rhizosphere, and/or rhizoplana) of one ormore crops of interest may be selected. These microorganisms areselected so as to be capable of successfully competing in the particularenvironment with the wild-type microorganisms, provide for stablemaintenance and expression of the gene expressing the pesticidalprotein, and desirably, provide for improved protection of the pesticidefrom environmental degradation and inactivation.

Such microorganisms include bacteria, algae, and fungi. Of particularinterest are microorganisms such as bacteria, e.g., Pseudomonas,Erwinia, Serratia, Klebsiella, Xanthomonas, Streptomyces, Rhizobium,Rhodopseudomonas, Methylius, Agrobacterium, Acetobacter, Lactobacillus,Arthrobacter, Azotobacter, Leuconostoc, and Alcaligenes, fungi,particularly yeast, e.g., Saccharomyces, Cryptococcus, Kluyveromyces,Sporobolomyces, Rhodotorula, and Aureobasidium. Of particular interestare such phytosphere bacterial species as Pseudomonas syringae,Pseudomonas fluorescens, Serratia marcescens, Acetobacter xylinum,Agrobacteria, Rhodopseudomonas spheroides, Xanthomonas campestris,Rhizobium melioti, Alcaligenes entrophus, Clavibacter xyli andAzotobacter vinelandii and phytosphere yeast species such as Rhodotorularubra, R. glutinis, R. marina, R. aurantiaca, Cryptococcus albidus, C.diffluens, C. laurentii, Saccharomyces rosei, S. pretoriensis, S.cerevisiae, Sporobolomyces roseus, S. odorus, Kluyveromyces veronae, andAureobasidium pollulans. Of particular interest are the pigmentedmicroorganisms.

A number of ways are available for introducing a gene expressing thepesticidal protein into the microorganism host under conditions thatallow for stable maintenance and expression of the gene. For example,expression cassettes can be constructed which include the nucleotideconstructs of interest operably linked with the transcriptional andtranslational regulatory signals for expression of the nucleotideconstructs, and a nucleotide sequence homologous with a sequence in thehost organism, whereby integration will occur, and/or a replicationsystem that is functional in the host, whereby integration or stablemaintenance will occur.

Transcriptional and translational regulatory signals include, but arenot limited to, promoters, transcriptional initiation start sites,operators, activators, enhancers, other regulatory elements, ribosomalbinding sites, an initiation codon, termination signals, and the like.See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,039,523 and 4,853,331; EPO 0480762A2;Sambrook; Maniatis et al. (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, ColdSpring Harbor, N.Y.); Davis et al., eds. (1980) Advanced BacterialGenetics (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)and the references cited therein.

Suitable host cells, where the pesticidal protein-containing cells willbe treated to prolong the activity of the pesticidal proteins in thecell when the treated cell is applied to the environment of the targetpest(s), may include either prokaryotes or eukaryotes, normally beinglimited to those cells that do not produce substances toxic to higherorganisms, such as mammals. However, organisms that produce substancestoxic to higher organisms could be used, where the toxin is unstable orthe level of application sufficiently low as to avoid any possibility oftoxicity to a mammalian host. As hosts, of particular interest will bethe prokaryotes and the lower eukaryotes, such as fungi. Illustrativeprokaryotes, both Gram-negative and gram-positive, includeEnterobacteriaceae, such as Escherichia, Erwinia, Shigella, Salmonella,and Proteus; Bacillaceae; Rhizobiaceae, such as Rhizobium; Spirillaceae,such as photobacterium, Zymomonas, Serratia, Aeromonas, Vibrio,Desulfovibrio, Spirillum; Lactobacillaceae; Pseudomonadaceae, such asPseudomonas and Acetobacter; Azotobacteraceae and Nitrobacteraceae.Among eukaryotes are fungi, such as Phycomycetes and Ascomycetes, whichincludes yeast, such as Saccharomyces and Schizosaccharomyces; andBasidiomycetes yeast, such as Rhodotorula, Aureobasidium,Sporobolomyces, and the like.

Characteristics of particular interest in selecting a host cell forpurposes of pesticidal protein production include ease of introducingthe pesticidal protein gene into the host, availability of expressionsystems, efficiency of expression, stability of the protein in the host,and the presence of auxiliary genetic capabilities. Characteristics ofinterest for use as a pesticide microcapsule include protectivequalities for the pesticide, such as thick cell walls, pigmentation, andintracellular packaging or formation of inclusion bodies; leaf affinity;lack of mammalian toxicity; attractiveness to pests for ingestion; easeof killing and fixing without damage to the toxin; and the like. Otherconsiderations include ease of formulation and handling, economics,storage stability, and the like.

Host organisms of particular interest include yeast, such as Rhodotorulaspp., Aureobasidium spp., Saccharomyces spp. (such as S. cerevisiae),Sporobolomyces spp., phylloplane organisms such as Pseudomonas spp.(such as P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescens), Erwinia spp., andFlavobacterium spp., and other such organisms, including Bt, E. coli,Bacillus subtilis, and the like.

Genes encoding the pesticidal proteins of the embodiments can beintroduced into microorganisms that multiply on plants (epiphytes) todeliver pesticidal proteins to potential target pests. Epiphytes, forexample, can be gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria.

Root-colonizing bacteria, for example, can be isolated from the plant ofinterest by methods known in the art. Specifically, a Bacillus cereusstrain that colonizes roots can be isolated from roots of a plant (see,for example, Handelsman et al. (1991) Appl. Environ. Microbiol.56:713-718). Genes encoding the pesticidal proteins of the embodimentscan be introduced into a root-colonizing Bacillus cereus by standardmethods known in the art.

Genes encoding pesticidal proteins can be introduced, for example, intothe root-colonizing Bacillus by means of electro transformation.Specifically, genes encoding the pesticidal proteins can be cloned intoa shuttle vector, for example, pHT3101 (Lerecius et al. (1989) FEMSMicrobiol. Letts. 60: 211-218. The shuttle vector pHT3101 containing thecoding sequence for the particular pesticidal protein gene can, forexample, can be transformed into the root-colonizing Bacillus by meansof electroporation (Lerecius et al. (1989) FEMS Microbiol. Letts. 60:211-218).

Expression systems can be designed so that pesticidal proteins aresecreted outside the cytoplasm of gram-negative bacteria, such as E.coli, for example. Advantages of having pesticidal proteins secretedare: (1) avoidance of potential cytotoxic effects of the pesticidalprotein expressed; and (2) improvement in the efficiency of purificationof the pesticidal protein, including, but not limited to, increasedefficiency in the recovery and purification of the protein per volumecell broth and decreased time and/or costs of recovery and purificationper unit protein.

Pesticidal proteins can be made to be secreted in E. coli, for example,by fusing an appropriate E. coli signal peptide to the amino-terminalend of the pesticidal protein. Signal peptides recognized by E. coli canbe found in proteins already known to be secreted in E. coli, forexample the OmpA protein (Ghrayeb et al. (1984) EMBO J, 3:2437-2442).OmpA is a major protein of the E. coli outer membrane, and thus itssignal peptide is thought to be efficient in the translocation process.Also, the OmpA signal peptide does not need to be modified beforeprocessing as may be the case for other signal peptides, for examplelipoprotein signal peptide (Duffaud et al. (1987) Meth. Enzymol. 153:492).

Pesticidal proteins of the embodiments can be fermented in a bacterialhost and the resulting bacteria processed and used as a microbial sprayin the same manner that Bt strains have been used as insecticidalsprays. In the case of a pesticidal protein(s) that is secreted fromBacillus, the secretion signal is removed or mutated using proceduresknown in the art. Such mutations and/or deletions prevent secretion ofthe pesticidal protein(s) into the growth medium during the fermentationprocess. The pesticidal proteins are retained within the cell, and thecells are then processed to yield the encapsulated pesticidal proteins.Any suitable microorganism can be used for this purpose. Pseudomonas hasbeen used to express Bt toxins as encapsulated proteins and theresulting cells processed and sprayed as an insecticide (Gaertner et al.(1993), in: Advanced Engineered Pesticides, ed. Kim).

Alternatively, the pesticidal proteins are produced by introducing aheterologous gene into a cellular host. Expression of the heterologousgene results, directly or indirectly, in the intracellular productionand maintenance of the pesticide. These cells are then treated underconditions that prolong the activity of the toxin produced in the cellwhen the cell is applied to the environment of target pest(s). Theresulting product retains the toxicity of the toxin. These naturallyencapsulated pesticidal proteins may then be formulated in accordancewith conventional techniques for application to the environment hostinga target pest, e.g., soil, water, and foliage of plants. See, forexample EP0192319, and the references cited therein.

In the embodiments, a transformed microorganism (which includes wholeorganisms, cells, spore(s), pesticidal protein(s), pesticidalcomponent(s), pest-impacting component(s), mutant(s), living or deadcells and cell components, including mixtures of living and dead cellsand cell components, and including broken cells and cell components) oran isolated pesticidal protein can be formulated with an acceptablecarrier into a pesticidal composition(s) that is, for example, asuspension, a solution, an emulsion, a dusting powder, a dispersiblegranule or pellet, a wettable powder, and an emulsifiable concentrate,an aerosol or spray, an impregnated granule, an adjuvant, a coatablepaste, a colloid, and also encapsulations in, for example, polymersubstances. Such formulated compositions may be prepared by suchconventional means as desiccation, lyophilization, homogenization,extraction, filtration, centrifugation, sedimentation, or concentrationof a culture of cells comprising the polypeptide.

Such compositions disclosed above may be obtained by the addition of asurface-active agent, an inert carrier, a preservative, a humectant, afeeding stimulant, an attractant, an encapsulating agent, a binder, anemulsifier, a dye, a UV protectant, a buffer, a flow agent orfertilizers, micronutrient donors, or other preparations that influenceplant growth. One or more agrochemicals including, but not limited to,herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, nematicides,molluscicides, acaricides, plant growth regulators, harvest aids, andfertilizers, can be combined with carriers, surfactants or adjuvantscustomarily employed in the art of formulation or other components tofacilitate product handling and application for particular target pests.Suitable carriers and adjuvants can be solid or liquid and correspond tothe substances ordinarily employed in formulation technology, e.g.,natural or regenerated mineral substances, solvents, dispersants,wetting agents, tackifiers, binders, or fertilizers. The activeingredients of the embodiments are normally applied in the form ofcompositions and can be applied to the crop area, plant, or seed to betreated. For example, the compositions of the embodiments may be appliedto grain in preparation for or during storage in a grain bin or silo,etc. The compositions of the embodiments may be applied simultaneouslyor in succession with other compounds. Methods of applying an activeingredient of the embodiments or an agrochemical composition of theembodiments that contains at least one of the pesticidal proteinsproduced by the bacterial strains of the embodiments include, but arenot limited to, foliar application, seed coating, and soil application.The number of applications and the rate of application depend on theintensity of infestation by the corresponding pest.

Suitable surface-active agents include, but are not limited to, anioniccompounds such as a carboxylate of, for example, a metal; a carboxylateof a long chain fatty acid; an N-acylsarcosinate; mono or di-esters ofphosphoric acid with fatty alcohol ethoxylates or salts of such esters;fatty alcohol sulfates such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium octadecylsulfate or sodium cetyl sulfate; ethoxylated fatty alcohol sulfates;ethoxylated alkylphenol sulfates; lignin sulfonates; petroleumsulfonates; alkyl aryl sulfonates such as alkyl-benzene sulfonates orlower alkylnaphtalene sulfonates, e.g., butyl-naphthalene sulfonate;salts of sulfonated naphthalene-formaldehyde condensates; salts ofsulfonated phenol-formaldehyde condensates; more complex sulfonates suchas the amide sulfonates, e.g., the sulfonated condensation product ofoleic acid and N-methyl taurine; or the dialkyl sulfosuccinates, e.g.,the sodium sulfonate of dioctyl succinate. Non-ionic agents includecondensation products of fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, fatty acidamides or fatty-alkyl- or alkenyl-substituted phenols with ethyleneoxide, fatty esters of polyhydric alcohol ethers, e.g., sorbitan fattyacid esters, condensation products of such esters with ethylene oxide,e.g., polyoxyethylene sorbitar fatty acid esters, block copolymers ofethylene oxide and propylene oxide, acetylenic glycols such as2,4,7,9-tetraethyl-5-decyn-4,7-diol, or ethoxylated acetylenic glycols.Examples of a cationic surface-active agent include, for instance, analiphatic mono-, di-, or polyamine such as an acetate, naphthenate oroleate; or oxygen-containing amine such as an amine oxide ofpolyoxyethylene alkylamine; an amide-linked amine prepared by thecondensation of a carboxylic acid with a di- or polyamine; or aquaternary ammonium salt.

Examples of inert materials include but are not limited to inorganicminerals such as kaolin, phyllosilicates, carbonates, sulfates,phosphates, or botanical materials such as cork, powdered corncobs,peanut hulls, rice hulls, and walnut shells.

The compositions of the embodiments can be in a suitable form for directapplication or as a concentrate of primary composition that requiresdilution with a suitable quantity of water or other diluent beforeapplication. The pesticidal concentration will vary depending upon thenature of the particular formulation, specifically, whether it is aconcentrate or to be used directly. The composition contains 1 to 98% ofa solid or liquid inert carrier, and 0 to 50% or 0.1 to 50% of asurfactant. These compositions will be administered at the labeled ratefor the commercial product, for example, about 0.01 lb-5.0 lb. per acrewhen in dry form and at about 0.01 pts.-10 pts. per acre when in liquidform.

In a further embodiment, the compositions, as well as the transformedmicroorganisms and pesticidal proteins of the embodiments, can betreated prior to formulation to prolong the pesticidal activity whenapplied to the environment of a target pest as long as the pretreatmentis not deleterious to the pesticidal activity. Such treatment can be bychemical and/or physical means as long as the treatment does notdeleteriously affect the properties of the composition(s). Examples ofchemical reagents include but are not limited to halogenating agents;aldehydes such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde; anti-infectives, suchas zephiran chloride; alcohols, such as isopropanol and ethanol; andhistological fixatives, such as Bouin's fixative and Helly's fixative(see, for example, Humason (1967) Animal Tissue Techniques (W.H. Freemanand Co.).

In other embodiments, it may be advantageous to treat the Cry toxinpolypeptides with a protease, for example trypsin, to activate theprotein prior to application of a pesticidal protein composition of theembodiments to the environment of the target pest. Methods for theactivation of protoxin by a serine protease are well known in the art.See, for example, Cooksey (1968) Biochem. J. 6:445-454 and Carroll andEllar (1989) Biochem. J. 261:99-105, the teachings of which are hereinincorporated by reference. For example, a suitable activation protocolincludes, but is not limited to, combining a polypeptide to beactivated, for example a purified novel Cry polypeptide (e.g., havingthe amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 8, andtrypsin at a 1/100 weight ratio of protein/trypsin in 20 nM NaHCO₃, pH 8and digesting the sample at 36° C. for 3 hours.

The compositions (including the transformed microorganisms andpesticidal proteins of the embodiments) can be applied to theenvironment of an insect pest by, for example, spraying, atomizing,dusting, scattering, coating or pouring, introducing into or on thesoil, introducing into irrigation water, by seed treatment or generalapplication or dusting at the time when the pest has begun to appear orbefore the appearance of pests as a protective measure. For example, thepesticidal protein and/or transformed microorganisms of the embodimentsmay be mixed with grain to protect the grain during storage. It isgenerally important to obtain good control of pests in the early stagesof plant growth, as this is the time when the plant can be most severelydamaged. The compositions of the embodiments can conveniently containanother insecticide if this is thought necessary. In one embodiment, thecomposition is applied directly to the soil, at a time of planting, ingranular form of a composition of a carrier and dead cells of a Bacillusstrain or transformed microorganism of the embodiments. Anotherembodiment is a granular form of a composition comprising anagrochemical such as, for example, an herbicide, an insecticide, afertilizer, an inert carrier, and dead cells of a Bacillus strain ortransformed microorganism of the embodiments.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that not all compounds areequally effective against all pests. Compounds of the embodimentsdisplay activity against insect pests, which may include economicallyimportant agronomic, forest, greenhouse, nursery, ornamentals, food andfiber, public and animal health, domestic and commercial structure,household, and stored product pests. Insect pests include insectsselected from the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera,Mallophaga, Homoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera, Dermaptera,Isoptera, Anoplura, Siphonaptera, Trichoptera, etc., particularlyColeoptera and Lepidoptera.

Insects of the order Lepidoptera include, but are not limited to,armyworms, cutworms, loopers, and heliothines in the family Noctuidae:Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel (black cutworm); A. orthogonia Morrison(western cutworm); A. segetum Denis & Schiffermüller (turnip moth); A.subterranea Fabricius (granulate cutworm); Alabama argillacea Hübner(cotton leaf worm); Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (velvetbeancaterpillar); Athetis mindara Barnes and McDunnough (rough skinnedcutworm); Earias insulana Boisduval (spiny bollworm); E. vittellaFabricius (spotted bollworm); Egira (Xylomyges) curialis Grote (citruscutworm); Euxoa messoria Harris (darksided cutworm); Helicoverpaarmigera Hübner (American bollworm); H. zea Boddie (corn earworm orcotton bollworm); Heliothis virescens Fabricius (tobacco budworm);Hypena scabra Fabricius (green cloverworm); Mamestra configurata Walker(bertha armyworm); M. brassicae Linnaeus (cabbage moth); Melanchra pictaHarris (zebra caterpillar); Pseudaletia unipuncta Haworth (armyworm);Pseudoplusia includens Walker (soybean looper); Richia albicosta Smith(Western bean cutworm); Spodoptera frugiperda J E Smith (fall armyworm);S. exigua Hübner (beet armyworm); S. litura Fabricius (tobacco cutworm,cluster caterpillar); Trichoplusia ni Hübner (cabbage looper); borers,casebearers, webworms, coneworms, and skeletonizers from the familiesPyralidae and Crambidae such as Achroia grisella Fabricius (lesser waxmoth); Amyelois transitella Walker (naval orangeworm); Anagastakuehniella Zeller (Mediterranean flour moth); Cadra cautella Walker(almond moth); Chilo partellus Swinhoe (spotted stalk borer); C.suppressalis Walker (striped stem/rice borer); C. terrenellusPagenstecher (sugarcane stem borer); Corcyra cephalonica Stainton (ricemoth); Crambus caliginosellus Clemens (corn root webworm); C.teterrellus Zincken (bluegrass webworm); Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenée(rice leaf roller); Desmia funeralis Hübner (grape leaffolder);Diaphania hyalinata Linnaeus (melon worm); D. nitidalis Stoll(pickleworm); Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (southwestern corn borer), D.saccharalis Fabricius (surgarcane borer); Elasmopalpus lignosellusZeller (lesser cornstalk borer); Eoreuma loftini Dyar (Mexican riceborer); Ephestia elutella Hübner (tobacco (cacao) moth); Galleriamellonella Linnaeus (greater wax moth); Hedylepta accepta Butler(sugarcane leafroller); Herpetogramma licarsisalis Walker (sod webworm);Homoeosoma electellum Hulst (sunflower moth); Loxostege sticticalisLinnaeus (beet webworm); Maruca testulalis Geyer (bean pod borer);Orthaga thyrisalis Walker (tea tree web moth); Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner(European corn borer); Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Indian meal moth);Scirpophaga incertulas Walker (yellow stem borer); Udea rubigalis Guenée(celery leaftier); and leafrollers, budworms, seed worms, and fruitworms in the family Tortricidae Acleris gloverana Walsingham (Westernblackheaded budworm); A. variana Fernald (Eastern blackheaded budworm);Adoxophyes orana Fischer von Rösslerstamm (summer fruit tortrix moth);Archips spp. including A. argyrospila Walker (fruit tree leaf roller)and A. rosana Linnaeus (European leaf roller); Argyrotaenia spp.;Bonagota salubricola Meyrick (Brazilian apple leafroller); Choristoneuraspp.; Cochylis hospes Walsingham (banded sunflower moth); Cydialatiferreana Walsingham (filbertworm); C. pomonella Linnaeus (codlingmoth); Endopiza viteana Clemens (grape berry moth); Eupoeciliaambiguella Hübner (vine moth); Grapholita molesta Busck (oriental fruitmoth); Lobesia botrana Denis & Schiffermüller (European grape vinemoth); Platynota flavedana Clemens (variegated leafroller); P. stultanaWalsingham (omnivorous leafroller); Spilonota ocellana Denis &Schiffermüller (eyespotted bud moth); and Suleima helianthana Riley(sunflower bud moth).

Selected other agronomic pests in the order Lepidoptera include, but arenot limited to, Alsophila pometaria Harris (fall cankerworm); Anarsialineatella Zeller (peach twig borer); Anisota senatoria J. E. Smith(orange striped oakworm); Antheraea pernyi Guérin-Méneville (Chinese OakSilkmoth); Bombyx mori Linnaeus (Silkworm); Bucculatrix thurberiellaBusck (cotton leaf perforator); Colias eurytheme Boisduval (alfalfacaterpillar); Datana integerrima Grote & Robinson (walnut caterpillar);Dendrolimus sibiricus Tschetwerikov (Siberian silk moth), Ennomossubsignaria Hübner (elm spanworm); Erannis tiliaria Harris (lindenlooper); Erechthias flavistriata Walsingham (sugarcane bud moth);Euproctis chrysorrhoea Linnaeus (browntail moth); Harrisina americanaGuérin-Méneville (grapeleaf skeletonizer); Heliothis subflexa Guenée;Hemileuca oliviae Cockrell (range caterpillar); Hyphantria cunea Drury(fall webworm); Keiferia lycopersicella Walsingham (tomato pinworm);Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria Hulst (Eastern hemlock looper); L.fiscellaria lugubrosa Hulst (Western hemlock looper); Leucoma salicisLinnaeus (satin moth); Lymantria dispar Linnaeus (gypsy moth);Malacosoma spp.; Manduca quinquemaculata Haworth (five spotted hawkmoth, tomato hornworm); M. sexta Haworth (tomato hornworm, tobaccohornworm); Operophtera brumata Linnaeus (winter moth); Orgyia spp.;Paleacrita vernata Peck (spring cankerworm); Papilio cresphontes Cramer(giant swallowtail, orange dog); Phryganidia californica Packard(California oakworm); Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (citrusleafminer); Phyllonorycter blancardella Fabricius (spotted tentiformleafminer); Pieris brassicae Linnaeus (large white butterfly); P. rapaeLinnaeus (small white butterfly); P. napi Linnaeus (green veined whitebutterfly); Platyptilia carduidactyla Riley (artichoke plume moth);Plutella xylostella Linnaeus (diamondback moth); Pectinophoragossypiella Saunders (pink bollworm); Pontia protodice Boisduval &Leconte (Southern cabbageworm); Sabulodes aegrotata Guenée (omnivorouslooper); Schizura concinna J. E. Smith (red humped caterpillar);Sitotroga cerealella Olivier (Angoumois grain moth); Thaumetopoeapityocampa Schiffermuller (pine processionary caterpillar); Tineolabisselliella Hummel (webbing clothesmoth); Tuta absoluta Meyrick (tomatoleafminer) and Yponomeuta padella Linnaeus (ermine moth).

Of interest are larvae and adults of the order Coleoptera includingweevils from the families Anthribidae, Bruchidae, and Curculionidaeincluding, but not limited to: Anthonomus grandis Boheman (boll weevil);Cylindrocopturus adspersus LeConte (sunflower stem weevil); Diaprepesabbreviatus Linnaeus (Diaprepes root weevil); Hypera punctata Fabricius(clover leaf weevil); Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (rice waterweevil); Metamasius hemipterus hemipterus Linnaeus (West Indian caneweevil); M. hemipterus sericeus Olivier (silky cane weevil); Sitophilusgranarius Linnaeus (granary weevil); S. oryzae Linnaeus (rice weevil);Smicronyx fulvus LeConte (red sunflower seed weevil); S. sordidusLeConte (gray sunflower seed weevil); Sphenophorus maidis Chittenden(maize billbug); Rhabdoscelus obscurus Boisduval (New Guinea sugarcaneweevil); flea beetles, cucumber beetles, rootworms, leaf beetles, potatobeetles, and leafminers in the family Chrysomelidae including, but notlimited to: Chaetocnema ectypa Horn (desert corn flea beetle); C.pulicaria Melsheimer (corn flea beetle); Colaspis brunnea Fabricius(grape colaspis); Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence (northern cornrootworm); D. undecimpunctata howardi Barber (southern corn rootworm);D. virgifera virgifera LeConte (western corn rootworm); Leptinotarsadecemlineata Say (Colorado potato beetle); Oulema melanopus Linnaeus(cereal leaf beetle); Phyllotreta cruciferae Goeze (corn flea beetle);Zygogramma exclamationis Fabricius (sunflower beetle); beetles from thefamily Coccinellidae including, but not limited to: Epilachna varivestisMulsant (Mexican bean beetle); chafers and other beetles from the familyScarabaeidae including, but not limited to: Antitrogus parvulus Britton(Childers cane grub); Cyclocephala borealis Arrow (northern maskedchafer, white grub); C. immaculata Olivier (southern masked chafer,white grub); Dermolepida albohirtum Waterhouse (Greyback cane beetle);Euetheola humilis rugiceps LeConte (sugarcane beetle); Lepidiota frenchiBlackburn (French's cane grub); Tomarus gibbosus De Geer (carrotbeetle); T. subtropicus Blatchley (sugarcane grub); Phyllophaga crinitaBurmeister (white grub); P. latifrons LeConte (June beetle); Popilliajaponica Newman (Japanese beetle); Rhizotrogus majalis Razoumowsky(European chafer); carpet beetles from the family Dermestidae; wirewormsfrom the family Elateridae, Eleodes spp., Melanotus spp. including M.communis Gyllenhal (wireworm); Conoderus spp.; Limonius spp.; Agriotesspp.; Ctenicera spp.; Aeolus spp.; bark beetles from the familyScolytidae; beetles from the family Tenebrionidae; beetles from thefamily Cerambycidae such as, but not limited to, Migdolus fryanusWestwood (longhorn beetle); and beetles from the Buprestidae familyincluding, but not limited to, Aphanisticus cochinchinae seminulumObenberger (leaf-mining buprestid beetle).

Adults and immatures of the order Diptera are of interest, includingleafminers Agromyza parvicornis Loew (corn blotch leafminer); midgesincluding, but not limited to: Contarinia sorghicola Coquillett (sorghummidge); Mayetiola destructor Say (Hessian fly); Neolasiopteramurtfeldtiana Felt, (sunflower seed midge); Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin(wheat midge); fruit flies (Tephritidae), Oscinella frit Linnaeus (fritflies); maggots including, but not limited to: Delia spp. includingDelia platura Meigen (seedcorn maggot); D. coarctata Fallen (wheat bulbfly); Fannia canicularis Linnaeus, F. femoralis Stein (lesser houseflies); Meromyza americana Fitch (wheat stem maggot); Musca domesticaLinnaeus (house flies); Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus (stable flies));face flies, horn flies, blow flies, Chrysomya spp.; Phormia spp.; andother muscoid fly pests, horse flies Tabanus spp.; bot fliesGastrophilus spp.; Oestrus spp.; cattle grubs Hypoderma spp.; deer fliesChrysops spp.; Melophagus ovinus Linnaeus (keds); and other Brachycera,mosquitoes Aedes spp.; Anopheles spp.; Culex spp.; black fliesProsimulium spp.; Simulium spp.; biting midges, sand flies, sciarids,and other Nematocera.

Included as insects of interest are those of the order Hemiptera suchas, but not limited to, the following families: Adelgidae, Aleyrodidae,Aphididae, Asterolecaniidae, Cercopidae, Cicadellidae, Cicadidae,Cixiidae, Coccidae, Coreidae, Dactylopiidae, Delphacidae, Diaspididae,Eriococcidae, Flatidae, Fulgoridae, lssidae, Lygaeidae, Margarodidae,Membracidae, Miridae, Ortheziidae, Pentatomidae, Phoenicococcidae,Phylloxeridae, Pseudococcidae, Psyllidae, Pyrrhocoridae and Tingidae.

Agronomically important members from the order Hemiptera include, butare not limited to: Acrosternum hilare Say (green stink bug);Acyrthisiphon pisum Harris (pea aphid); Adelges spp. (adelgids);Adelphocoris rapidus Say (rapid plant bug); Anasa tristis De Geer(squash bug); Aphis craccivora Koch (cowpea aphid); A. fabae Scopoli(black bean aphid); A. gossypii Glover (cotton aphid, melon aphid); A.maidiradicis Forbes (corn root aphid); A. pomi De Geer (apple aphid); A.spiraecola Patch (spirea aphid); Aulacaspis tegalensis Zehntner(sugarcane scale); Aulacorthum solani Kaltenbach (foxglove aphid);Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (tobacco whitefly, sweetpotato whitefly); B.argentifolii Bellows & Perring (silverleaf whitefly); Blissusleucopterus leucopterus Say (chinch bug); Blostomatidae spp.;Brevicoryne brassicae Linnaeus (cabbage aphid); Cacopsylla pyricolaFoerster (pear psylla); Calocoris norvegicus Gmelin (potato capsid bug);Chaetosiphon fragaefolii Cockerell (strawberry aphid); Cimicidae spp.;Coreidae spp.; Corythuca gossypii Fabricius (cotton lace bug);Cyrtopeltis modesta Distant (tomato bug); C. notatus Distant (suckfly);Deois flavopicta Stål (spittlebug); Dialeurodes citri Ashmead (citruswhitefly); Diaphnocoris chlorionis Say (honeylocust plant bug);Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov/Mordvilko (Russian wheat aphid);Duplachionaspis divergens Green (armored scale); Dysaphis plantagineaPaaserini (rosy apple aphid); Dysdercus suturellus Herrich-Schäffer(cotton stainer); Dysmicoccus boninsis Kuwana (gray sugarcane mealybug);Empoasca fabae Harris (potato leafhopper); Eriosoma lanigerum Hausmann(woolly apple aphid); Erythroneoura spp. (grape leafhoppers); Eumetopinaflavipes Muir (Island sugarcane planthopper); Eurygaster spp.;Euschistus servus Say (brown stink bug); E. variolarius Palisot deBeauvois (one-spotted stink bug); Graptostethus spp. (complex of seedbugs); and Hyalopterus pruni Geoffroy (mealy plum aphid); Iceryapurchasi Maskell (cottony cushion scale); Labopidicola allii Knight(onion plant bug); Laodelphax striatellus Fallen (smaller brownplanthopper); Leptoglossus corculus Say (leaf-footed pine seed bug);Leptodictya tabida Herrich-Schaeffer (sugarcane lace bug); Lipaphiserysimi Kaltenbach (turnip aphid); Lygocoris pabulinus Linnaeus (commongreen capsid); Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois (tarnished plantbug); L. Hesperus Knight (Western tarnished plant bug); L. pratensisLinnaeus (common meadow bug); L. rugulipennis Poppius (Europeantarnished plant bug); Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (potato aphid);Macrosteles quadrilineatus Forbes (aster leafhopper); Magicicadaseptendecim Linnaeus (periodical cicada); Mahanarva fimbriolata Stål(sugarcane spittlebug); Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner (sugarcane aphid);Melanaspis glomerata Green (black scale); Metopolophium dirhodum Walker(rose grain aphid); Myzus persicae Sulzer (peach-potato aphid, greenpeach aphid); Nasonovia ribisnigri Mosley (lettuce aphid); Nephotettixcinticeps Uhler (green leafhopper); N. nigropictus Stål (riceleafhopper); Nezara viridula Linnaeus (southern green stink bug);Nilaparvata lugens Stål (brown planthopper); Nysius ericae Schilling(false chinch bug); Nysius raphanus Howard (false chinch bug); Oebaluspugnax Fabricius (rice stink bug); Oncopeltus fasciatus Dallas (largemilkweed bug); Orthops campestris Linnaeus; Pemphigus spp. (root aphidsand gall aphids); Peregrinus maidis Ashmead (corn planthopper);Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy (sugarcane delphacid); Phylloxeradevastatrix Pergande (pecan phylloxera); Planococcus citri Risso (citrusmealybug); Plesiocoris rugicollis Fallen (apple capsid); Poecilocapsuslineatus Fabricius (four-lined plant bug); Pseudatomoscelis seriatusReuter (cotton fleahopper); Pseudococcus spp. (other mealybug complex);Pulvinaria elongata Newstead (cottony grass scale); Pyrilla perpusillaWalker (sugarcane leafhopper); Pyrrhocoridae spp.; Quadraspidiotusperniciosus Comstock (San Jose scale); Reduviidae spp.; Rhopalosiphummaidis Fitch (corn leaf aphid); R. padi Linnaeus (bird cherry-oataphid); Saccharicoccus sacchari Cockerell (pink sugarcane mealybug);Schizaphis graminum Rondani (greenbug); Sipha flava Forbes (yellowsugarcane aphid); Sitobion avenae Fabricius (English grain aphid);Sogatella furcifera Horvath (white-backed planthopper); Sogatodesoryzicola Muir (rice delphacid); Spanagonicus albofasciatus Reuter(whitemarked fleahopper); Therioaphis maculata Buckton (spotted alfalfaaphid); Tinidae spp.; Toxoptera aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe (blackcitrus aphid); and T. citricida Kirkaldy (brown citrus aphid);Trialeurodes abutiloneus (bandedwinged whitefly) and T. vaporariorumWestwood (greenhouse whitefly); Trioza diospyri Ashmead (persimmonpsylla); and Typhlocyba pomaria McAtee (white apple leafhopper).

Also included are adults and larvae of the order Acari (mites) such asAceria tosichella Keifer (wheat curl mite); Panonychus ulmi Koch(European red mite); Petrobia latens Müller (brown wheat mite);Steneotarsonemus bancrofti Michael (sugarcane stalk mite); spider mitesand red mites in the family Tetranychidae, Oligonychus grypus Baker &Pritchard, O. indicus Hirst (sugarcane leaf mite), O. pratensis Banks(Banks grass mite), O. stickneyi McGregor (sugarcane spider mite);Tetranychus urticae Koch (two spotted spider mite); T. mcdanieliMcGregor (McDaniel mite); T. cinnabarinus Boisduval (carmine spidermite); T. turkestani Ugarov & Nikolski (strawberry spider mite), flatmites in the family Tenuipalpidae, Brevipalpus lewisi McGregor (citrusflat mite); rust and bud mites in the family Eriophyidae and otherfoliar feeding mites and mites important in human and animal health,i.e. dust mites in the family Epidermoptidae, follicle mites in thefamily Demodicidae, grain mites in the family Glycyphagidae, ticks inthe order Ixodidae. Ixodes scapularis Say (deer tick); I. holocyclusNeumann (Australian paralysis tick); Dermacentor variabilis Say(American dog tick); Amblyomma americanum Linnaeus (lone star tick); andscab and itch mites in the families Psoroptidae, Pyemotidae, andSarcoptidae.

Insect pests of the order Thysanura are of interest, such as Lepismasaccharina Linnaeus (silverfish); Thermobia domestica Packard(firebrat).

Additional arthropod pests covered include: spiders in the order Araneaesuch as Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik (brown recluse spider); andthe Latrodectus mactans Fabricius (black widow spider); and centipedesin the order Scutigeromorpha such as Scutigera coleoptrata Linnaeus(house centipede). In addition, insect pests of the order Isoptera areof interest, including those of the termitidae family, such as, but notlimited to, Cylindrotermes nordenskioeldi Holmgren andPseudacanthotermes militaris Hagen (sugarcane termite). Insects of theorder Thysanoptera are also of interest, including but not limited tothrips, such as Stenchaetothrips minutus van Deventer (sugarcanethrips).

Insect pests may be tested for pesticidal activity of compositions ofthe embodiments in early developmental stages, e.g., as larvae or otherimmature forms. The insects may be reared in total darkness at fromabout 20° C. to about 30° C. and from about 30% to about 70% relativehumidity. Bioassays may be performed as described in Czapla and Lang(1990) J. Econ. Entomol. 83(6): 2480-2485. Methods of rearing insectlarvae and performing bioassays are well known to one of ordinary skillin the art.

A wide variety of bioassay techniques are known to one skilled in theart. General procedures include addition of the experimental compound ororganism to the diet source in an enclosed container. Pesticidalactivity can be measured by, but is not limited to, changes inmortality, weight loss, attraction, repellency and other behavioral andphysical changes after feeding and exposure for an appropriate length oftime. Bioassays described herein can be used with any feeding insectpest in the larval or adult stage.

The following examples are presented by way of illustration, not by wayof limitation.

EXPERIMENTALS Example 1—Gene Identification and E. coli Expression

A gene (SEQ ID NO: 1) encoding the Cry1J-like insecticidal protein(Cry1JDP166) of SEQ ID NO: 2 was obtained from a screen of Bacillusthuringiensis isolates from an internal DuPont proprietary collectionfrom a strain designated as DP166.

Polynucleotide sequences encoding the Cry1J polypeptides of thedisclosure were cloned into a pET28a vector (Novagen®) and transformedinto E. coli BL21 cells (Invitrogen). Large scale 1.0 L cultures weregrown until O.D.600 nm˜0.8 and then the cultures were induced withisopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) 1 mM and allowed to growfor 16 hours at 16° C. The cell pellets were lysed with 50 mL of 500 mMNaCl/20 mM Tris/5 mM Imidazole/pH 7.9 with 0.02% lysozyme (w/v) and 0.1%Tween-20 and 1 tablet of Complete Protease Inhibitor (Roche) added.After lysis, the solutions were sonicated and the lysate centrifuged at25,000 rpm for 30 minutes. The supernatant containing the solubleprotein fraction were filtered through a 0.45 u vacuum filter and then 1ml of Talon (Clontech) slurry is added and then incubated for binding onrotator at 100 rpm for 1 hour. The lysate is then added to a column andthe bound protein is isolated and washed with 20 ml of 50 mmM NaCl/20 mMTris/5 mM Imidazole/pH 7.9 and then eluted with 1.5 ml of 50 mmM NaCl/20mM Tris/500 mM Imidazole/pH 7.9. The purified protein is then dialyzedinto 50 mM sodium carbonate buffer pH10. The purified protein wassubmitted for insecticidal activity in panel of Lepidoptera in vitrofeeding assays.

Example 2—Lepidoptera Assays with Partially Purified Proteins

Insecticidal activity bioassay screens were conducted to evaluate theeffects of the insecticidal proteins on a variety of Lepidopteraspecies: European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), corn earworm(Helicoverpa zea), black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon), fall armyworm(Spodoptera frugiperda), Soybean looper (Pseudoplusia includens) andVelvet bean caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis).

Lepidoptera feeding assays were conducted on an artificial dietcontaining the purified protein in a 96 well plate set up. The purifiedprotein (25 ul) is then added to the artificial diet. Two to fiveneonate larvas were placed in each well to feed ad libitum for 5 days.Results were expressed as positive for larvae reactions such as stuntingand or mortality. Results were expressed as negative if the larvae weresimilar to the negative control that is feeding diet to which the abovebuffer only has been applied. A primary bioassay screen was performedfor each purified protein at a single concentration on European cornborer (Ostrinia nubilalis), corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), blackcutworm (Agrotis ipsilon), fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda),Soybean looper (Pseudoplusia includens) and Velvet bean caterpillar(Anticarsia gemmatalis). The insect assays were scored as follows:3=100% mortality; 2=severe stunting; 1=stunting; and 0=no activity.

The primary insecticidal assay results for the Cry1JDP166 insecticidalpolypeptide is shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 FAW CEW SBL VBC Primary + + + + Screen

Example 3—Mutagenesis of the Cry1JDP166 Polypeptide

The Cry1JDP166 polypeptide (SEQ ID NO: 2) was unstable in a trypsinsolution at 1:50 ratio (W/W) and in midgut juice of insect target pests.Several mutations were designed to stabilize the wild type Cry1JDP166polypeptide. Surprisingly a mutant with a substitution from proline atposition 578 of SEQ ID NO: 2 to valine, referred to as Cry1JP578V (SEQID NO: 4), conferred stability to the recombinant Cry1JDP166 polypeptideboth with trypsin treatment and in midgut juices of targeted insectpests. The insecticidal activity of Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO: 4) is shownin Table 2.

TABLE 2 Targeted insect pests ECB CEW FAW SBL VBC Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO:4) + + + + +

Example 4—Cross Resistance of Insecticidal Polypeptides in Cry1Ab orCry1F Resistant Strain of European Corn Borer (ECB)

To determine if Cry1Ab and Cry1F resistant insects were cross resistantto Cry1J, European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) larvae susceptible orresistant to Cry1Ab (Crespo A. et al., Pest Manag Sci 65: 1071-10812009) or Cry1F, were treated with Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO: 4).

The laboratory Cry1F-selected strain (Cry1F-R) was originated from acombination of five field populations collected in 2007 and was selectedfor resistance using increasing amounts of lyophilized leaf tissue ofCry1F expressing maize.

Larval susceptibility of the Bt susceptible and resistant strains(CryAb-R and Cry1F-R) of Ostrinia nubilalis (European Corn Borer) to theinsecticidal proteins was determined using a diet incorporated bioassaymethod. Briefly, 25 ul of a sample concentration is mixed with 75 ul ofartificial diet per well in a 96 well plate format. Each bioassayincluded eight to ten concentrations of a sample apart from the negativecontrol, and three to four replications for each concentration. Theprotein solutions were prepared by mixing proteins with appropriateamount of buffer solutions. One neonate larvae (<24 h after hatch) willbe placed in each assay well. Mortality and larval growth inhibition(defined as inhibition if larva did not enter second instar within 6days) by each sample were scored after 6 days of feeding on the treateddiet at 27° C., 50% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 hours (L:D).Concentrations for 50% mortality (LC50) or inhibition of 50% of theindividuals (IC50) were calculated based on probit analysis, andstatistical analyses performed by using statistical software.

The resistant ratio for Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO: 4) was determined to be˜1 indicating the lack of cross-resistance of Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO: 4)with Cry1Ab and Cry1F insecticidal polypeptides against European cornborer (Ostrinia nubilalis) larvae.

The Cry1JP578V polypeptide (SEQ ID NO: 4) was also tested against aCry1Fa FAW resistant colony and the resistant ratio was determined to be˜1 demonstrating that there is a lack of cross resistant between Cry1Faand Cry1JP578V (SEQ ID NO: 4) in FAW.

Example 5—Transient Expression in Leaves and Insect Bioassay

For soybean expression optimized coding sequences were designed. In theCry1JDP166 expression optimized coding sequence (SEQ ID NO: 5) themodified nucleotide sequence introduced codons changing the glutamicacid at position 115 to aspartic acid, the alanine at position 594 tovaline, the lysine at position 724 to isoleucine, relative to SEQ ID NO:2, and the resulting polypeptide was referred to as Cry1JPS1 (SEQ ID NO:6). The Cry1JP578V expression optimized coding sequence (SEQ ID NO: 7)comprises modifications encoding the three amino substitutions describedabove plus the proline to valine substitution at position 578 and isreferred to as Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8).

To confirm activity of Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8) a transientexpression system under control of the AtUBQ10 promoter (Day, et. al.,(1999) Plant Mol. Biol. 40:771-782; Norris S R et al (1993) Plant MolBiol. 21(5):895-906) was utilized. The agro-infiltration method ofintroducing an Agrobacterium cell suspension to plant cells of intacttissues so that reproducible infection and subsequent plant derivedtransgene expression may be measured or studied is well known in the art(Kapila, et. al., (1997) Plant Science 122:101-108). Briefly, excisedleaf disks of soybean (Glycine max), were agro-infiltrated withnormalized bacterial cell cultures of test and control strains. After 4days leaf disks were infested with 2 neonates of Soybean Looper (SBL)(Chrysodeixis includens), Corn Earworm, (CEW) (Helicoverpa zea),Velvetbean Caterpillar (VBC) (Anticarsia gemmatalis), or Fall Armyworm(Spodoptera frugiperda) alone. Control leaf discs were generated withAgrobacterium containing only a DsRed2 fluorescence marker (Clontech™,1290 Terra Bella Ave. Mountain View, Calif. 94043) expression vector.Leaf discs from non-infiltrated plants were included as a secondcontrol. The consumption of green leaf tissue was scored three daysafter infestation and given scores of 0 to 9. The transiently expressedCry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8), protected leaf discs from consumption bythe infested insects while total green tissue consumption was observedfor the negative control and untreated tissue (Table 3). Transientprotein expression of Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8) was confirmed bywestern blot using antibodies raised to Cry1JaH (SEQ ID NO: 2).

TABLE 3 Leaf Disc Consumption (Scale 1 to 9) Transient expression FAWCEW SBL VBC Cry1JPS1 (SEQ ID NO: 6) 8.7 7.3 8.8 8.7 Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQID NO: 8) 8.8 6.6 9.0 8.7 dsRED 1.6 1.0 1.3 1.0 Value Description 1 leafdisk is greater than 90% consumed 2 leaf disk is 70-80% consumed 3 leafdisk is 60-70% consumed 4 leaf disk is 50-60% consumed 5 leaf disk is40-50% consumed 6 leaf disk is less than 30% consumed 7 leaf disk isless than 10% consumed 8 leaf disk has only a few pinholes 9 leaf diskis untouched by the insect

Example 6—Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Maize andRegeneration of Transgenic Plants

For Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize with a polynucleotidesequence (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3 or a maize optimizedsequence), the method of Zhao can be used (U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,840 andPCT patent publication WO98/32326; the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference). Briefly, immature embryos are isolated frommaize and the embryos contacted with a suspension of Agrobacterium underconditions whereby the bacteria are capable of transferring the toxinnucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3 or a maize optimizedsequence) to at least one cell of at least one of the immature embryos(step 1: the infection step). In this step the immature embryos can beimmersed in an Agrobacterium suspension for the initiation ofinoculation. The embryos are co-cultured for a time with theAgrobacterium (step 2: the co-cultivation step). The immature embryoscan be cultured on solid medium following the infection step. Followingthis co-cultivation period an optional “resting” step is contemplated.In this resting step, the embryos are incubated in the presence of atleast one antibiotic known to inhibit the growth of Agrobacteriumwithout the addition of a selective agent for plant transformants (step3: resting step). The immature embryos can be cultured on solid mediumwith antibiotic, but without a selecting agent, for elimination ofAgrobacterium and for a resting phase for the infected cells. Next,inoculated embryos are cultured on medium containing a selective agentand growing transformed callus is recovered (step 4: the selectionstep). The immature embryos are cultured on solid medium with aselective agent resulting in the selective growth of transformed cells.The callus is then regenerated into plants (step 5: the regenerationstep), and calli grown on selective medium can be cultured on solidmedium to regenerate the plants.

Example 7—Transformation of Soybean Embryos

Soybean embryos were bombarded with a plasmid containing the toxinnucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5 or SEQID NO: 7 operably linked to a suitable promoter as follows. To inducesomatic embryos, cotyledons, 3-5 mm in length dissected fromsurface-sterilized, immature seeds of an appropriate soybean cultivarwere cultured in the light or dark at 26° C. on an appropriate agarmedium for six to ten weeks. Somatic embryos producing secondary embryoswere then excised and placed into a suitable liquid medium. Afterrepeated selection for clusters of somatic embryos that multiplied asearly, globular-staged embryos, the suspensions were maintained asdescribed below.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures were maintained in 35 mL liquidmedia on a rotary shaker, 150 rpm, at 26° C. with florescent lights on a16:8 hour day/night schedule. Cultures were subcultured every two weeksby inoculating approximately 35 mg of tissue into 35 mL of liquidmedium.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures were then transformed by themethod of particle gun bombardment (Klein, et al., (1987) Nature(London) 327:70-73, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,050). A Du Pont BiolisticPDS1000/HE instrument (helium retrofit) can be used for thesetransformations.

A selectable marker gene that can be used to facilitate soybeantransformation includes, but is not limited to: the 35S promoter fromCauliflower Mosaic Virus (Odell, et al., (1985) Nature 313:810-812), thehygromycin phosphotransferase gene from plasmid pJR225 (from E. coli;Gritz, et al., (1983) Gene 25:179-188), and the 3′ region of thenopaline synthase gene from the T DNA of the Ti plasmid of Agrobacteriumtumefaciens. The expression cassette comprising a toxin nucleotidesequence (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3 or a maize optimizedsequence) operably linked to a suitable promoter can be isolated as arestriction fragment. This fragment can then be inserted into a uniquerestriction site of the vector carrying the marker gene.

To 50 μL of a 60 mg/mL 1 μm gold particle suspension was added (inorder): 5 μL DNA (1 μg/μL), 20 μL spermidine (0.1M), and 50 μL CaCl2(2.5M). The particle preparation was then agitated for three minutes,spun in a microfuge for 10 seconds and the supernatant removed. TheDNA-coated particles were then washed once in 400 μL 70% ethanol andresuspended in 40 μL of anhydrous ethanol. The DNA/particle suspensionwas sonicated three times for one second each. Five microliters of theDNA-coated gold particles were then loaded on each macro carrier disk.

Approximately 300-400 mg of a two-week-old suspension culture was placedin an empty 60×15 mm petri dish and the residual liquid removed from thetissue with a pipette. For each transformation experiment, approximately5-10 plates of tissue were normally bombarded. Membrane rupture pressurewas set at 1100 psi, and the chamber was evacuated to a vacuum of 28inches mercury. The tissue was placed approximately 3.5 inches away fromthe retaining screen and bombarded three times. Following bombardment,the tissue was divided in half and placed back into liquid and culturedas described above.

Five to seven days post bombardment the liquid media was exchanged withfresh media, and eleven to twelve days post-bombardment with fresh mediacontaining 50 mg/mL hygromycin. This selective media was refreshedweekly. Seven to eight weeks post-bombardment, green, transformed tissuewas observed growing from untransformed, necrotic embryogenic clusters.Isolated green tissue was removed and inoculated into individual flasksto generate new, clonally propagated, transformed embryogenic suspensioncultures. Each new line was treated as an independent transformationevent. These suspensions were then subcultured and maintained asclusters of immature embryos or regenerated into whole plants bymaturation and germination of individual somatic embryos.

Example 8—Regeneration of Soybean Somatic Embryos into Plants

In order to obtain whole plants from embryogenic suspension cultures,the tissue must be regenerated.

Embryo Maturation

Embryos were cultured for 4-6 weeks at 26□C in SB196 under cool whitefluorescent (Phillips cool white Econowatt F40/CW/RS/EW) and Agro(Phillips F40 Agro) bulbs (40 watt) on a 16:8 hr photoperiod with lightintensity of 90-120 ρE/m²s. After this time embryo clusters were removedto a solid agar media, SB166, for 1-2 weeks. Clusters were thensubcultured to medium SB103 for 3 weeks. During this period, individualembryos were removed from the clusters and screened for ABAaccumulation. It should be noted that any detectable phenotype,resulting from the expression of the genes of interest, could bescreened at this stage.

Embryo Desiccation and Germination

Matured individual embryos were desiccated by placing them into anempty, small petri dish (35×10 mm) for approximately 4-7 days. Theplates were sealed with fiber tape (creating a small humidity chamber).Desiccated embryos were planted into SB71-4 medium where they were leftto germinate under the same culture conditions described above.Germinated plantlets were removed from germination medium and rinsedthoroughly with water and then planted in Redi-Earth™ in 24-cell packtray, covered with clear plastic dome. After 2 weeks the dome wasremoved and plants hardened off for a further week. If plantlets lookedhardy they were transplanted to 10″ pot of Redi-Earth™ with up to 3plantlets per pot.

Analysis of Leaf Tissues from Transgenic Soybean Events

Leaf tissue was harvested at approximately V3/V4 and fed to Lepidopteranspecies of interest. leaf disks were infested with 2 neonates of SoybeanLooper (SBL) (Chrysodeixis includens), Corn Earworm, (CEW) (Helicoverpazea), Velvetbean Caterpillar (VBC) (Anticarsia gemmatalis), or FallArmyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) alone. Leaf discs from wild type plantswere included as a control. The consumption of green leaf tissue wasscored five days after infestation and given scores of 0 to 9. Theexpressed Cry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 8), protected leaf discs fromconsumption by the infested insects while total green tissue consumptionwas observed for the negative control (Table 4). Protein expression ofCry1JPS1P578V (SEQ ID NO: 1) was confirmed by western blot usingantibodies raised to Cry1JaH (SEQ ID NO: 2).

TABLE 4 FAW CEW SBL VBC At-UBQ10:Cry1JPS1 2.8 5.3 8.9 8.0 (SEQ ID NO: 6)Expression: 425 ppm At-UBQ10:Cry1JPS1P578V 2.5 7.3 8.0 8.0 (SEQ ID NO:8): Expression: 830 ppm

The above description of various illustrated embodiments of thedisclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope to theprecise form disclosed. While specific embodiments of and examples aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. The teachings providedherein can be applied to other purposes, other than the examplesdescribed above. Numerous modifications and variations are possible inlight of the above teachings and, therefore, are within the scope of theappended claims.

These and other changes may be made in light of the above detaileddescription. In general, in the following claims, the terms used shouldnot be construed to limit the scope to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification and the claims.

The entire disclosure of each document cited (including patents, patentapplications, journal articles, abstracts, manuals, books or otherdisclosures) in the Background, Detailed Description, and Examples isherein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

Efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respect to the numbersused (e.g. amounts, temperature, concentrations, etc.) but someexperimental errors and deviations should be allowed for. Unlessotherwise indicated, parts are parts by weight, molecular weight isaverage molecular weight; temperature is in degrees centigrade; andpressure is at or near atmospheric.

That which is claimed:
 1. A variant Cry1J polypeptide comprising anamino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 8 having aValine substitution at position 578 compared to the native Cry1Jpolypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the variant Cry1J polypeptide hasinsecticidal activity against European corn borer, corn earworm, blackcutworm, fall armyworm, Soybean looper and Velvet bean caterpillar, andincreased stability against proteolytic degradation compared to theCry1J polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 2. A variant Cry1J polypeptidecomprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ IDNO: 8 having a Valine substitution at position 578 compared to thenative Cry1J polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the variant Cry1Jpolypeptide has insecticidal activity against European corn borer, cornearworm, black cutworm, fall armyworm, Soybean looper and Velvet beancaterpillar, and increased stability against proteolytic degradation asmeasured in a Simulated Gastric Fluid (SGF) assay.
 3. A recombinantnucleic acid molecule encoding the variant Cry1J polypeptide of claim 1.4. The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of claim 3, wherein the nucleicacid sequence has been optimized for expression in a plant.
 5. Therecombinant nucleic acid molecule of claim 4, wherein the nucleic acidsequence is a synthetic nucleotide sequence having plant preferredcodons that have been designed for expression in a plant.
 6. Therecombinant nucleic acid molecule of claim 3 wherein the nucleic acidsequence has been optimized for expression in soybean.
 7. Therecombinant nucleic acid molecule of claim 3, wherein the nucleic acidis selected from SEQ ID NO: 3, and SEQ ID NO:
 7. 8. A DNA constructcomprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 3 and a heterologousregulatory element operably linked to the nucleic acid molecule.
 9. Ahost cell comprising the DNA construct of claim
 8. 10. The host cell ofclaim 9, wherein the host cell is a bacterial cell.
 11. The host cell ofclaim 9, wherein the host cell is a plant cell.
 12. The host cell ofclaim 9, wherein the host cell is a soybean cell.
 13. A transgenic plantcomprising the host cell of claim
 9. 14. The transgenic plant of claim13, wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of maize,sorghum, wheat, cabbage, sunflower, tomato, a crucifer species, a pepperspecies, potato, cotton, rice, soybean, sugar beet, sugarcane, tobacco,barley, and oilseed rape.
 15. A seed comprising the DNA construct ofclaim
 8. 16. A composition comprising the variant Cry1J polypeptide ofclaim
 1. 17. The composition of claim 16, wherein the compositioncomprises from 1% to 99% by weight of the variant Cry1J polypeptide. 18.A method for controlling a Lepidopteran pest population comprisingcontacting said population with a pesticidally-effective amount of thevariant Cry1J polypeptide of claim
 1. 19. A method for killing aLepidopteran pest comprising contacting said pest with, or feeding tosaid pest, a pesticidally-effective amount of the variant Cry1Jpolypeptide of claim
 1. 20. A method for producing a polypeptide withpesticidal activity, comprising culturing the host cell of claim 9 underconditions in which the nucleic acid molecule encoding the variant Cry1Jpolypeptide is expressed.
 21. A plant or plant cell having stablyincorporated into its genome the DNA construct of claim
 8. 22. A methodof protecting a plant from an insect pest, comprising introducing intosaid plant the DNA construct of claim
 7. 23. The method of claim 19,wherein the insect pest is Soybean Looper (Chrysodeixis includens).